Nonstop flight route between Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,128 miles (or 6,643 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 Brize Norton and Des Moines 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 Brize Norton and Des Moines 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 Brize Norton (BZZ):

• Following the Falklands War, the RAF found itself lacking in the strategic transport capabilities required to sustain the expanded military presence there.
• Like many UK military bases RAF Brize Norton has been subject to limited protests by peace demonstrators.
• By the end of June 2011 all flying units from RAF Lyneham had moved to RAF Brize Norton.
• To accommodate this expansion, a major infrastructure redevelopment, "Programme Future Brize" was established in 2009.
• The furthest airport from RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,888 miles (19,132 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Brize Norton (BZZ) is RAF Fairford (FFD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WSW of BZZ.
• RAF Brize Norton was opened in 1937 as a training station and one of the first squadrons to use the airfield was No.
• The station is home to Air Transport, Air-to-Air refuelling and Military Parachuting, with aircraft operating from the station including the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Airbus A330 MRTT Voyager which replaced the now decommissioned Lockheed TriStar in March 2014.

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• As of March 2014, Delta Air Lines handled of DSM passengers, followed by United Airlines, American Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.
• The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
• The airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department.
• In 2011, the City of Des Moines transferred control from the city to the Des Moines Airport Authority.
• Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines 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.
• This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
• On December 18, 2010, a small red Beechcraft Bonanza crashed while performing an emergency landing at DSM.
• The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.