Nonstop flight route between Alamosa, Colorado, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS), Alamosa, Colorado, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,772 miles (or 7,681 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 San Luis Valley Regional 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 San Luis Valley Regional 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 San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS):

• Because of San Luis Valley Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,539 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "San Luis Valley Regional Airport", another name for ALS is "Bergman Field".
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 7,161 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 6,279 in 2009 and 6,737 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,054 miles (17,790 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) is Stevens Field (FAA: PSO) (PGO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) W of ALS.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.