Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Orlando, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,269 miles (or 6,871 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 Orlando 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 Orlando 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):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Orlando International Airport (MCO):

• The original terminal building, a converted hangar, was described as inadequate for the task at hand even when it was first opened as Orlando Jetport.
• Orlando International Airport (MCO) has 4 runways.
• McCoy AFB was identified for closure in early 1973 as part of a post-Vietnam reduction in force.
• Orlando International Airport handled 34,877,899 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Orlando International Airport (MCO) is Orlando Executive Airport (ORL), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) N of MCO.
• The furthest airport from Orlando International Airport (MCO) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,506 miles (18,517 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Orlando International Airport's relatively low elevation of 96 feet, planes can take off or land at Orlando 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.
• In the early 1970s Delta, National, and Eastern Airlines began 'widebody' flights to MCO, National with the DC-10-10 and −30 and Delta and Eastern Airlines with the L-1011.
• In October 2006, MCO opened a 100-space Cell Phone Parking Lot for drivers to use while waiting for passengers to arrive.
• In 1978, MCO handled 5 million passengers.