Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,451 miles (or 5,553 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 Fairford and Lehigh Valley 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 Fairford and Lehigh Valley 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 Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.

Facts about Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE):

• By January 1944 work on a new runway was completed and a Class A United States Weather Bureau station had been installed.
• In April 1946 the Lehigh Airport Authority was created to own and manage the airport.
• The airport before terminal expansion.
• The furthest airport from Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,695 miles (18,821 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Quakertown Airport (UKT), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of ABE.
• Because of Lehigh Valley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 393 feet, planes can take off or land at Lehigh Valley 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.
• Naval pilot training graduation ceremony at the Allentown PA Airport – 1943
• Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) has 2 runways.