Nonstop flight route between Waterloo, Iowa, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) (ALO), Waterloo, Iowa, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,027 miles (or 6,480 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 Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) 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 Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) 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 Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) (ALO):

• The closest airport to Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) (ALO) is Northeast Iowa Regional Airport (CCY), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) NNW of ALO.
• The furthest airport from Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) (ALO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,839 miles (17,443 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) (ALO) has 3 runways.
• Because of Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field)'s relatively low elevation of 873 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterloo Regional Airport (Livingston Betsworth Field) 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.
• Northwest flew mechanics to Waterloo to inspect the Boeing 757 and arranged for an extra flight for the stranded passengers.

Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.