Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Bloomington, Minnesota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP), Bloomington, Minnesota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,978 miles (or 6,402 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain 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 AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport. 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• Also in 1942, to bring the station up to Class A airfield standards, the runways were extended to 2,000 yards, and 1,400 yards, with 26 additional hardstands along with the taxiways altered.
• In 1937, Royal Air Force Bomber Command was drawing up plans for dispersal of their aircraft in the event of air raids on its stations.
• Opened in 1938, it is currently a non-flying facility under the control of the United States Air Force.
• RAF Alconbury is about 0.308 sq mi in area.
• This was the time of the Blitz, when many parts of Britain were being subjected to an almost nightly series of heavy air raids.
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP):

• Due in part to the impact of aircraft noise on south Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs, Northwest Airlines and others had proposed moving out of MSP and building a new airport on the fringes of the Twin Cities metro area to handle more large jets and more international traffic.
• Like many other airports, MSP interconnects with several other forms of transportation.
• The airport came into being when several local groups came together to take control of the former bankrupt Twin City Speedway race track, giving the airport its original name, Speedway Field.
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP) has 4 runways.
• The airport is near Fort Snelling, the site of one of the earliest United States government settlements in the area.
• Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport handled 33,897,335 passengers last year.
• Because of Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport's relatively low elevation of 841 feet, planes can take off or land at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain 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.
• Starting in 2000, MSP switched to lettered concourses, which has become standard practice at airports around the world.
• The closest airport to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP) is St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) ENE of MSP.
• The METRO light rail Blue Line has stops at both the Hub Building Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 Humphrey Terminal.
• The furthest airport from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport Wold–Chamberlain Airport (MSP) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,758 miles (17,313 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Icelandair started service to Minneapolis-St.