Runways at EGVA
According to OurAirports data (compiled from AIP and FAA sources), RAF Fairford (Fairford, Gloucestershire) has one runway: 09/27 - 3,046 m long (9,994 ft), 61 m wide, asphalt surface.
RAF Fairford (Fairford, Gloucestershire) (EGVA / FFD)
United Kingdom · elevation 286 ft AMSL
· 51.6836, -1.7892
About RAF Fairford (Fairford, Gloucestershire)
RAF Fairford (Fairford, Gloucestershire) is an airport with the ICAO code EGVA and the IATA code FFD. Country: United Kingdom. Nearest settlement listed in the database: Fairford, Gloucestershire. OurAirports classifies it as a medium-sized airport. Its ICAO code starts with the EG prefix, which marks airports in United Kingdom. The four-letter code EGVA is used in flight operations and weather reports, while the three-letter IATA code FFD is used for ticketing and baggage handling. The airport reference point sits at 51°41'01"N, 1°47'21"W, at an elevation of 286 ft (87 m) above sea level. The applicable time zone is Europe/London.
Satellite view of EGVA
Aerial imagery showing the runway and apron layout - the zoom is matched to the longest runway.
Runways of EGVA
| Threshold | Course | Length | Width | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09 | 90° | 3,046 m (9,994 ft) | 61 m (200 ft) | asphalt |
| 27 | 270° |
The course is derived from the runway designator (number × 10), not from a survey - the actual magnetic bearing can differ by a few degrees.
Declared distances (TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA) are published in the national AIP - they are not part of this table.
Climate at RAF Fairford (Fairford, Gloucestershire) - statistics from METAR reports
What the METAR reports from EGVA for 2023-2025 show - counted hour by hour.
We computed these statistics from 24,733 METAR reports issued by EGVA in 2023-2025. VFR conditions prevailed 67% of the time, MVFR 23% and IFR or LIFR 10%. Best month for VFR flying: June (82% of hours VFR). Most IFR and LIFR hours: December (21%).
Through the day, IFR or LIFR conditions are most frequent around 06:00 UTC (19% of reports at that hour) and least frequent around 15:00 UTC (5%).
Fog (FG) was reported on 27 days a year on average, most often in January. Thunderstorms (TS) occurred on 4.4 days a year on average, and snowfall on 4.1.
The wind most often blows from WSW (248°) - 13% of reports. Calm (0 kt) made up 11% of reports, and gusts of 25 kt or more appeared in 4%. Warmest month: August (average high 22.2 °C); coldest: January (average low 1.2 °C).
Year
Selected period in numbers: 2023-2025
- VFR hours
- 67%
- IFR/LIFR hours
- 10%
- Avg high
- 15.4 °C
- Avg low
- 7.5 °C
- Fog days
- 27
- Thunderstorm days
- 4.4
- Snow days
- 4.1
- Prevailing wind
- WSW · 13%
- Gusts ≥ 25 kt
- 4%
Day counts are for the selected period (for all years - the yearly average).
- VFR 67%
- MVFR 23%
- IFR 8%
- LIFR 3%
The top of each bar is the average daily high, the bottom the average daily low (usually around dawn), in °C.
Wind rose
- 1-10 kt
- 11-20 kt
- over 20 kt
- calm: 11%
Most often: WSW - 13% of reports. Each petal shows the direction the wind blows from (as in METAR) - the longer it is, the more often. Colour shows wind speed.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | VFR | IFR/LIFR | Fog days | Thunderstorm days | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.7 | 1.2 | 62% | 13% | 4 | 0 | 1.3 |
| February | 10.1 | 4.0 | 51% | 17% | 2.7 | 0 | 0.4 |
| March | 11.7 | 4.0 | 62% | 11% | 2.3 | 0 | 1.3 |
| April | 14.5 | 5.5 | 75% | 7% | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| May | 18.5 | 9.1 | 80% | 6% | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0 |
| June | 21.7 | 11.4 | 82% | 2% | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0 |
| July | 22.1 | 12.8 | 76% | 5% | 0.7 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 22.2 | 12.4 | 81% | 5% | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0 |
| September | 19.3 | 10.9 | 70% | 10% | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0 |
| October | 14.9 | 8.3 | 58% | 15% | 3.9 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 11.2 | 4.8 | 60% | 14% | 2.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| December | 9.9 | 4.9 | 41% | 21% | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Temperatures are averages of daily highs and lows. Day counts are the average per month over the period.
Runway headings and wind
The thresholds are oriented as follows: 09/27 on 90° and 270° magnetic. A threshold designator is its magnetic heading divided by ten (ICAO Annex 14), so the runway axis can be read straight off the numbers.
For the 09/27 axis, wind from the south (around 180°) or from the north (around 360°) blows perpendicular to the runway and produces the largest crosswind component. Wind from around 90° or 270° acts along the runway, as a headwind or a tailwind. The decoder on this page computes those components automatically from the current METAR.
METAR and TAF for EGVA
Weather reports for RAF Fairford (Fairford, Gloucestershire) are published under the ICAO code EGVA. A METAR is an observation of current conditions, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes; a TAF is a forecast for the airport area, typically covering 9 to 30 hours.
The decoder breaks the EGVA report down into its parts: wind direction and speed including gusts and variability, visibility (including CAVOK and directional minimum visibility), weather phenomena by WMO code, cloud layers with their bases, temperature and dew point, QNH pressure, and the resulting flight category - VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR - using FAA thresholds.
Not every airport issues its own reports; many smaller airfields have no weather station. If no current data is available for EGVA, check the nearby airports listed below.
Reports always use UTC (the Z suffix). The Europe/London zone is GMT+00:00 in winter and GMT+01:00 in summer - that is the shift to apply to the time in the report to get local time at the airport.
The closest airports in the database, measured in a straight line from the reference point, are South Cerney Airfield (South Cerney (Glos)) (EGCY, 9 km), RAF Brize Norton (Carterton, Oxfordshire) (EGVN, 16 km), Oaksey Park Airfield (Malmesbury, Wiltshire) (EGTW, 17 km). When no report is available for EGVA, they usually give the best approximation of conditions in the area.
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Looking for a report from a specific day?
The METAR archive for EGVA goes back to 09/06/1952. Pick a date and see every observation from that day.
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