Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Charleston, South Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from FFD to CHS:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- FFD Airport Information
- CHS Airport Information
- Facts about FFD
- Facts about CHS
- 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 CHS
- List of Nearest Airports to CHS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CHS
- List of Furthest Airports from CHS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Charleston International Airport (CHS), Charleston, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,997 miles (or 6,432 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 Charleston 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 Charleston International 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: | CHS / KCHS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Charleston, South Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°53'54"N by 80°2'26"W |
Operator/Owner: | Charleston County Joint Base Charleston |
Airport Type: | Public / Military |
Elevation: | 46 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from CHS |
More Information: | CHS Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
- 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.
- 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 Charleston International Airport (CHS):
- The closest airport to Charleston International Airport (CHS) is Lowcountry Regional Airport (RBW), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of CHS.
- Charleston International Airport (CHS) has 2 runways.
- Because of Charleston International Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Charleston 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.
- In 1928, the Charleston Airport Corporation was founded and purchased 700 acres of land previously belonging to a mining company.
- The furthest airport from Charleston International Airport (CHS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,561 miles (18,606 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Charleston International Airport handled 2,913,265 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Charleston International Airport", another name for CHS is "Charleston Field".