Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Charlotte, North Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Charlotte, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,924 miles (or 6,314 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 Charlotte Douglas 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 Charlotte Douglas 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):

• 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 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.

Facts about Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT):

• The "Fourth Parallel" runway for Charlotte Douglas is due to be formally designed in 2014 and construction has been planned to commence in January 2015 and scheduled for completion in the early stages of 2017, the runway is going to be built in between the existing runways 18R/36L and 18C/36C, and at 12,000 ft, the new runway would be Charlotte's longest to date.
• The closest airport to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is Wilgrove Air Park (QWG), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) W of CLT.
• The furthest airport from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,521 miles (18,541 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Aerial view circa 1946
• In 1999, plans were announced for the construction of a regional carrier concourse and for the expansion of Concourses A and D.
• Because of Charlotte Douglas International Airport's relatively low elevation of 748 feet, planes can take off or land at Charlotte Douglas 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.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) has 4 runways.
• The August 1, 2013 court date yielded a verdict that the transfer, should it occur, would need prior approval from the FAA, a division of the US Department of Transportation, currently headed by former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who has officially recused himself from the matter.
• Two years later in 1969, a new enclosed concourse was built parallel to the center pier.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport handled 41,228,372 passengers last year.