Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from FFD to FAI:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- FAI Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about FAI
- 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 FAI
- List of Nearest Airports to FAI
- Map of Furthest Airports from FAI
- List of Furthest Airports from FAI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,186 miles (or 6,737 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 Fairbanks International 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 Fairbanks International 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: | FAI / PAFA |
Airport Name: | Fairbanks International Airport |
Location: | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 64°48'53"N by 147°51'23"W |
Area Served: | Fairbanks, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from FAI |
More Information: | FAI 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.
- 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.
- The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
- 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.
- Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
- 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.
- 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.
Facts about Fairbanks International Airport (FAI):
- Because of Fairbanks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Fairbanks International 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.
- The furthest airport from Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,289 miles (16,558 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) has 4 runways.
- The closest airport to Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of FAI.
- Pan Am eventually used Fairbanks as a stopover for transpacific service from New York and Seattle to Tokyo starting in September 1969.