Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and College Park, Maryland, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFD to CGS:
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- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- CGS Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about CGS
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to CGS
- List of Nearest Airports to CGS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CGS
- List of Furthest Airports from CGS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and College Park Airport (CGS), College Park, Maryland, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,585 miles (or 5,770 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 College Park 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 College Park Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CGS / KCGS |
Airport Name: | College Park Airport |
Location: | College Park, Maryland, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°58'50"N by 76°55'20"W |
Operator/Owner: | Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 48 feet (15 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CGS |
More Information: | CGS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- 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.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- 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.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- 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 College Park Airport (CGS):
- George Brinckerhoff took over management of the Airfield and ran it from 1927 until 1959, hosting numerous airshows and teaching hundreds of pilots to fly during his tenure.
- The furthest airport from College Park Airport (CGS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,684 miles (18,803 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of College Park Airport's relatively low elevation of 48 feet, planes can take off or land at College Park 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.
- College Park Airport (CGS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to College Park Airport (CGS) is Bolling Air Force Base (BOF), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SSW of CGS.
- The Christmas Aeroplane Company of Washington D.C.