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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO), Brownsville, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,062 miles (or 8,146 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 Brownsville/South Padre Island 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 Brownsville/South Padre Island 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 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO):

• Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO) has 3 runways.
• The Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport is the first airport in Texas to offer flight status notification via text-messaging through its website.
• The furthest airport from Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,143 miles (17,933 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In addition to being known as "Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport", another name for BRO is "(former Brownsville Army Airfield)".
• The airport is the largest air cargo handling airport in the Rio Grande Valley.
• Various aircraft types, including Bombardier CRJ-200 and Embraer ERJ 145, are used by American Eagle and United Express in Brownsville.
• Because of Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Brownsville/South Padre Island 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.
• This airport included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service facility.
• The closest airport to Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport (BRO) is General Servando Canales International Airport (MAM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSW of BRO.
• For the first year of the United States' involvement in combat of the war, Pan American continued to operate the airport, providing training to Ferrying Command pilots and ground mechanics assigned to the 18th Transport Transition Training Detachment.