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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA), Amarillo, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,738 miles (or 7,625 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 Rick Husband Amarillo 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 Rick Husband Amarillo 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):

• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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 Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA):

• In 2009 the airport was again used as a refueling stop by the SCA.
• Harold English opened English Field in 1929.
• The furthest airport from Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,034 miles (17,757 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) is Tradewind Airport (TDW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of AMA.
• On July 1, 2007 the Space Shuttle Atlantis made a stop at the airport while being piggybacked from Edwards Air Force Base to Florida—one of the few visits by the shuttle to a commercial airport.
• Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA) has 2 runways.