Nonstop flight route between Blackpool, England, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Blackpool International Airport (BLK), Blackpool, England, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,823 miles (or 6,152 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 Blackpool International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Blackpool International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 Blackpool International Airport (BLK):

• The furthest airport from Blackpool International Airport (BLK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,823 miles (19,027 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In the summer of 2008 Ryanair announced a large cut in capacity at a number of airports, including Stansted, from October 2008 to March 2009, although Blackpool was not affected by these cuts.
• Blackpool International Airport (BLK) has 2 runways.
• Blackpool International Airport handled 262,630 passengers last year.
• With aviation roots that trace back to 1909, Blackpool Airport was one of the first aviation sites in the UK.
• On 18 July 2008, the Blackpool Gazette announced that Jet2 planned to suspend its daily service from Blackpool to Belfast International for the winter.
• The airport site's first aviation use was in October 1909, when the UK's first official public Flying Meeting was held on a specially laid out site at Squires Gate, followed by another in 1910.
• The closest airport to Blackpool International Airport (BLK) is Warton Aerodrome (WRT), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of BLK.
• In addition to being known as "Blackpool International Airport", another name for BLK is "Squires Gate Airport".
• Also in 2005, Monarch set up a new route to Málaga, three times a week.
• Because of Blackpool International Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Blackpool 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.
• Work on enlarging and improving the airfield and facilities began in late 1937, but the aerodrome was requisitioned by the Air Ministry in 1938.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.
• The 4133d SW was redesignated as the 319th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963 in a name-only redesigation and was assigned to SAC's Second Air Force, 810th Strategic Aerospace Division.
• In 1971, the 18th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was inactivated and the 460th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron replaced the unit.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.