Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to MKY:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- MKY Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about MKY
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to MKY
- List of Nearest Airports to MKY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MKY
- List of Furthest Airports from MKY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,817 miles (or 15,799 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between RAF Fairford and Mackay Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between RAF Fairford and Mackay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MKY / YBMK |
Airport Name: | Mackay Airport |
Location: | Mackay, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°10'18"S by 149°10'46"E |
Operator/Owner: | Mackay Airport Pty Ltd |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 19 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MKY |
More Information: | MKY Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- The furthest airport from RAF Fairford (FFD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,898 miles (19,148 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
- RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):
- The furthest airport from Mackay Airport (MKY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,973 miles (19,269 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- Mackay Airport had grass landing strips until 1940, when the Commonwealth Government extended the airport's boundaries and upgraded the runways to unsealed gravel for use during World War II.
- In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited, announced plans to purchase almost 25 per cent of North Queensland Airports, operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $167 million.
- The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
- Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
- Because of Mackay Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Mackay Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.