Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,525 miles (or 5,672 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 Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg 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 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.

Facts about Harrisburg International Airport (MDT):

• A new 360,000 square-foot terminal was completed in 2004.
• Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,654 miles (18,755 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Despite the closure of Olmsted AFB in 1969, the US Air Force continues an Air National Guard presence at Harrisburg in the form of Harrisburg Air National Guard Station and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 193rd Special Operations Wing, an Air Force Special Operations Command -gained unit flying the EC-130 Commando Solo aircraft.
• The terminal has 12 gates and is a pier finger lay out near the middle of the airfield, almost parallel to the runway.
• Because of Harrisburg International Airport's relatively low elevation of 310 feet, planes can take off or land at Harrisburg 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.
• The closest airport to Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) is Capital City Airport (HAR), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) WNW of MDT.
• In 1998 the Commonwealth transferred ownership to the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority.
• Built in 2004, and attached to the new terminal building via a climate-controlled sky bridge, the Multi-Modal Transportation Facility is a four-story facility that handles all ground transportation.
• The Middletown Air Depot at Olmsted provided logistical and maintenance support of military aircraft until it closed in 1969.