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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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 was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Bradley International Airport (BDL):

• In 1950 Bradley International Airport exceeded the 100,000-passenger mark, handling 108,348 annual passengers.
• 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.
• The now defunct Bradlees department store chain was named after the airport, when investors held a meeting there.
• In December 2002, a new International Arrivals Building opened to the west of Terminal B.
• 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.
• Bradley International Airport (BDL) has 3 runways.
• 2001 also saw the commencement of the Terminal Improvement Project to expand Terminal A with a new concourse, construct a new International Arrivals Building, and centralize passenger screening.
• The closest airport to Bradley International Airport (BDL) is Rentschler Heliport (EHT), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of BDL.
• In 1971 the Murphy Terminal was expanded with an International Arrivals wing.