Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Craig, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Craig Seaplane Base (CGA), Craig, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,527 miles (or 7,286 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 Craig Seaplane Base, 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 Craig Seaplane Base. 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):

• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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 Craig Seaplane Base (CGA):

• The furthest airport from Craig Seaplane Base (CGA) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,645 miles (17,131 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 5,844 enplanements in calendar year 2008, 4,470 enplanements in 2009, and 4,368 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Craig Seaplane Base (CGA) is Klawock Airport (KLW), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNE of CGA.
• Because of Craig Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Craig Seaplane Base 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.
• Craig Seaplane Base (CGA) currently has only 1 runway.