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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFD to ABE:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- ABE Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about ABE
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to ABE
- List of Nearest Airports to ABE
- Map of Furthest Airports from ABE
- List of Furthest Airports from ABE
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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ABE / KABE |
Airport Name: | Lehigh Valley International Airport |
Location: | Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°39'8"N by 75°26'25"W |
Area Served: | Lehigh Valley |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 393 feet (120 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ABE |
More Information: | ABE Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of 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.
- 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.
- RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
- Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
Facts about Lehigh Valley International Airport (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.
- Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) has 2 runways.
- The airport has had competition from Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, which have more flights and sometimes lower fares.
- During World War II the U.
- The closest airport to Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) is Quakertown Airport (UKT), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of ABE.
- 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.
- Construction began on the present terminal in 1973 and the project, designed by Wallace & Watson, was completed in 1976.
- The airport before terminal expansion.
- By January 1944 work on a new runway was completed and a Class A United States Weather Bureau station had been installed.