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 was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH):

• The Florida Keys Marathon Airport is a public airport located along the Overseas Highway in Marathon, in Monroe County, Florida, United States.
• Marathon Airport was originally constructed by the United States Navy in the early 1940s as Outlying Field Marathon, an auxiliary airfield to Naval Air Station Key West.
• In mid summer of 2007, Delta announced it would end service to Marathon Airport due to low demand.
• The closest airport to Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) is NAS Key West (NQX), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) WSW of MTH.
• 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.
• 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.
• Florida Keys Marathon Airport (MTH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Marathon Airport was served by American Eagle Airlines until 2000.