Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Romulus (near Detroit), Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Romulus (near Detroit), Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,698 miles (or 5,951 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 Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County 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 Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• 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 Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW):

• The Berry Terminal, named for a former airport commissioner, was designed by Detroit architect Louis G.
• The present Runway 3L/21R has had four identifiers.
• Because of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport's relatively low elevation of 645 feet, planes can take off or land at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County 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 closest airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) is Willow Run Airport (YIP) (YIP), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of DTW.
• The furthest airport from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,285 miles (18,161 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) has 6 runways.
• In April 2011 Lufthansa launched a unique curbside check-in and baggage check service for premium customers departing from DTW's North Terminal to Frankfurt and beyond.
• The twelve international gates are capable of dual jet bridge loading and unloading.