Nonstop flight route between Charleston, South Carolina, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Charleston International Airport (CHS), Charleston, South Carolina, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,997 miles (or 6,432 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 Charleston International 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 Charleston International 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 Charleston International Airport (CHS):

• Because of Charleston International Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Charleston 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.
• Charleston International Airport handled 2,913,265 passengers last year.
• The current airline terminal was built in 1987 and was designed by Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff, Davis & Floyd, Inc., and Lucas & Stubbs.
• The closest airport to Charleston International Airport (CHS) is Lowcountry Regional Airport (RBW), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of CHS.
• In 2011 Southwest Airlines began service to Charleston, increasing passenger figures and reducing fares for most flights.
• As of 2014, one-way fares are $3.00 for the Route 4 express service and $1.75 for the Route 11 service.
• The furthest airport from Charleston International Airport (CHS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,561 miles (18,606 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Charleston International Airport", another name for CHS is "Charleston Field".
• Charleston International Airport (CHS) has 2 runways.
• During the Korean War, the airfield was reactivated for military use and in 1952, the City of Charleston and the United States Air Force reached an agreement on control of the base and the runways—an arrangement that has been renegotiated over time and that continues to this day.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• 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.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.