Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA), Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,106 miles (or 6,608 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 Chattanooga Metropolitan 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 Chattanooga Metropolitan 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):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA):

• On November 27, 1973, Delta Air Lines Flight 516, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, crashed short of the runway on approach to the airport.
• Post-war growth in aviation in the 1950s led to a transfer of the airport's operations to the City of Chattanooga and significant airport expansion with construction of a new runway, which serves as the primary runway today.
• In addition to being known as "Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport", another name for CHA is "Lovell Field".
• Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) has 2 runways.
• Because of Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport's relatively low elevation of 683 feet, planes can take off or land at Chattanooga Metropolitan 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.
• The furthest airport from Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,280 miles (18,153 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) is Marion County Airport (APT), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) W of CHA.
• In 1930, due to the interest and foresight of John Lovell, a new Chattanooga Airport was established with an unpaved runway at its present location and was named Lovell Field in his honor.
• The largest aircraft currently serving the airport are the MD-80 series operated by Allegiant Air and Delta Air Lines.
• It has been proposed that a new high-speed rail line be constructed from the airport to MARTA in metro Atlanta, so that it could easily serve as Atlanta's second airport.