Nonstop flight route between Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,451 miles (or 5,553 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 Lehigh Valley International Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Lehigh Valley International Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE):

• Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) has 2 runways.
• By January 1944 work on a new runway was completed and a Class A United States Weather Bureau station had been installed.
• Because of Lehigh Valley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 393 feet, planes can take off or land at Lehigh Valley 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.
• Naval pilot training graduation ceremony at the Allentown PA Airport – 1943
• On June 27, 2009, Allegiant Air Flight 746, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft made an emergency landing after flames were observed coming from the aircraft's left engine.
• The furthest airport from Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Quakertown Airport (UKT), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of ABE.

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.
• 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 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.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.