Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Bradford Regional Airport (BFD), Bradford, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,530 miles (or 5,681 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 Bradford 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 Bradford 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 Bradford Regional Airport (BFD):

• Its first airline flights were United DC-3s in 1948.
• As per the Federal Aviation Administration, this airport had 4,898 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 2,593 in 2009, and 2,962 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Bradford Regional Airport (BFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,513 miles (18,528 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Bradford Regional Airport (BFD) is St. Marys Municipal Airport (STQ), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSE of BFD.
• Bradford Regional Airport (BFD) has 2 runways.
• The airport is owned by the Bradford Regional Airport Authority and serves Pennsylvania and Western New York.
• The airport covers 1,015 acres at an elevation of 2,143 feet above mean sea level.