Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Bethel, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT), Bethel, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,587 miles (or 7,383 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 Bethel Seaplane Base, 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 Bethel Seaplane Base. 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.

Facts about Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT):

• The furthest airport from Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,584 miles (17,034 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of Bethel Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Bethel Seaplane Base 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 addition to being known as "Bethel Seaplane Base", another name for JBT is "Z59".
• Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT) is Bethel Airport (BET), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) W of JBT.