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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH), Marathon, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,445 miles (or 7,154 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 Florida Keys Marathon 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 Florida Keys Marathon 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH):

• Because of Florida Keys Marathon Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Florida Keys Marathon 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 Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) is NAS Key West (NQX), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) WSW of MTH.
• Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) currently has only 1 runway.
• On October 4, 2008, Continental Airlines announced it would begin commercial service to Marathon Airport via a Cape Air codeshare to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, with TSA security clearance to occur once on the ground in Fort Myers, if connecting to another flight.
• Marathon Airport was served by American Eagle Airlines until 2000.
• The furthest airport from Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,560 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• However on December 1, 2006, the TSA bowed to the effective lobbying efforts of local government, congressional and business officials when it announced that screeners would be provided at the airport no later than February 15, 2007, even if it meant using a contractor.