Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Westfield / Springfield, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), Westfield / Springfield, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,275 miles (or 5,271 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 Westfield-Barnes Regional 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 Westfield-Barnes Regional 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 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 Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• 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 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 Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF):

• The airport covers 1,200 acres  at an elevation of 270 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF) is Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) ENE of BAF.
• Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,728 miles (18,874 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• July 13, 1914 can be the date where aviation in Westfield is traced back to.
• Because of Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 270 feet, planes can take off or land at Westfield-Barnes Regional 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.
• In addition, AD-UP Aviation operates a part 61 flight school out of the new terminal building.
• In addition to being known as "Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport", another name for BAF is "(formerly Barnes Municipal Airport)".
• In 1923 citizens of Westfield, and nearby Holyoke set out to build an airport.
• The largest program is an official part 141 flight school named Westfield Flight Academy.