Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,506 miles (or 5,643 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 Benson and Philadelphia International 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 Benson and Philadelphia International 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 Benson (BEX):

• The airfield is a well-known frost hollow, often recording the coldest temperatures in the UK.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.

Facts about Philadelphia International Airport (PHL):

• With 460,779 aircraft movements in 2010, Philadelphia International Airport ranks 12th busiest in the world in terms of aircraft movements.
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has 4 runways.
• As a benefit to students, local schools including The University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Swarthmore College, Haverford College and Saint Joseph's University traditionally operate transportation shuttles to the airport during heavy travel periods such as spring and Thanksgiving breaks.
• The furthest airport from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,734 miles (18,884 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1947 and 1950 the airport had runways 4, 9, 12 and 17, all of 5400 ft or less.
• US Airways became the dominant carrier at PHL during the 1980s and 1990s and shifted most of its hub operations from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in 2003.
• Because of Philadelphia International Airport's relatively low elevation of 36 feet, planes can take off or land at Philadelphia 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.
• The closest airport to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is Philadelphia Seaplane BaseChandler Field (PSQ), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) WSW of PHL.