Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fort Worth, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW), Fort Worth, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,688 miles (or 7,544 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 Fort Worth Alliance 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 Fort Worth Alliance 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 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• 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.

Facts about Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW):

• The furthest airport from Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,936 miles (17,600 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• American Airlines closed its maintenance base in December 2012 during Chapter 11.
• The official groundbreaking ceremonies were held in July 1988, and the airport officially opened on December 14, 1989.
• Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) has 2 runways.
• Because of Fort Worth Alliance Airport's relatively low elevation of 722 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Worth Alliance 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.
• Billed as the world's first purely industrial airport, it was developed in a joint venture between the City of Fort Worth, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Hillwood Development Company, a real estate development company owned by Ross Perot, Jr.
• The closest airport to Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) is Fort Worth Meacham Int'l Airport (FTW), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSW of AFW.