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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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 Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT):

• In 1999, plans were announced for the construction of a regional carrier concourse and for the expansion of Concourses A and D.
• In 1954 a 70,000-square-foot passenger terminal opened and the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of former Charlotte Mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr.
• In 1987 Piedmont started non-stop 767 flights to London.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport handled 41,228,372 passengers last year.
• Construction of Charlotte International's fourth runway began in the spring of 2007.