Nonstop flight route between Adak Island, Alaska, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Adak Airport (ADK), Adak Island, Alaska, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,275 miles (or 8,490 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 Adak 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 Adak 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 Adak Airport (ADK):

• The closest airport to Adak Airport (ADK) is Atka Airport (AKB), which is located 106 miles (171 kilometers) ENE of ADK.
• Because of Adak Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Adak 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.
• Adak Airport (ADK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Adak Airport (ADK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,985 miles (17,679 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Once an American Airlines Boeing 777-200 from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport en route to Tokyo Narita diverted to Adak Airport due to a fire warning in the cargo hold.
• Scheduled passenger service service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.