Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Windsor Locks (near Hartford), Connecticut, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Bradley International Airport (BDL), Windsor Locks (near Hartford), Connecticut, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,283 miles (or 5,284 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 Bradley 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 Bradley 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):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Bradley International Airport (BDL):

• Bradley International Airport (BDL) has 3 runways.
• Because of Bradley International Airport's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Bradley 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.
• In 1948 the federal government deeded the Airport to the State of Connecticut for public and commercial use.
• The now defunct Bradlees department store chain was named after the airport, when investors held a meeting there.
• The closest airport to Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Rentschler Heliport (EHT), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of BDL.
• In 1979, a tornado ripped through Windsor Locks, wreaking destruction along the eastern portions of the airport.
• On June 22, 2012, the Connecticut Airport Authority board formally approved the hiring of Kevin A.
• The airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.
• The furthest airport from Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,740 miles (18,894 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 2008 Bradley was the 55th busiest airport in the United States by number of passengers enplaned.