Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Sardeh Band, Afghanistan:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to SBF:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- SBF Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about SBF
- 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 SBF
- List of Nearest Airports to SBF
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBF
- List of Furthest Airports from SBF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Sardeh Band Airport (SBF), Sardeh Band, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,648 miles (or 5,871 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 Sardeh Band 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 Sardeh Band 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: | SBF / OADS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Sardeh Band, Afghanistan |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°19'15"N by 68°38'11"E |
Area Served: | Band E Sardeh Dam |
Elevation: | 6971 feet (2,125 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SBF |
More Information: | SBF Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
- In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
- 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.
- On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
Facts about Sardeh Band Airport (SBF):
- The furthest airport from Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,996 miles (19,306 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Though the airstrip is still evident against the surrounding desert, it has not been maintained since Russian military Forces withdrew from Afghanistan and there are no structures to support it.
- In addition to being known as "Sardeh Band Airport", other names for SBF include "Sardeh Band Airport (Sardeh Band)" and "Band E Sardeh Dam Airport".
- Because of Sardeh Band Airport's high elevation of 6,971 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SBF. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SBF a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Sardeh Band Airport (SBF) is Ghazni Airport (GZI), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of SBF.