Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Columbus/West Point/Starkville, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR), Columbus/West Point/Starkville, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,320 miles (or 6,953 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 Golden Triangle Regional 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 Golden Triangle Regional 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):

• 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.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.

Facts about Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR):

• Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,077 miles (17,827 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Chautauqua Airlines, a Republic Airways Holdings company, also operated flights under the Delta Connection banner early in 2006.
• The closest airport to Golden Triangle Regional Airport (GTR) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) E of GTR.
• Because of Golden Triangle Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 264 feet, planes can take off or land at Golden Triangle Regional 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.
• Golden Triangle Regional Airport covers an area of 1,000 acres at an elevation of 264 feet above mean sea level.