Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Metlakatla, Annette Island, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM), Metlakatla, Annette Island, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,516 miles (or 7,268 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 Metlakatla 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 Metlakatla 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):

• On 14 January 2004, the 420th Air Base Group was established at RAF Fairford to improve the control of its geographically separated units that had been aligned beneath the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.
• 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.
• 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 the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.

Facts about Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM):

• Because of Metlakatla Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Metlakatla 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.
• Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM) has 2 runways.
• Metlakatla Seaplane Base is a state owned, public use seaplane base located in Metlakatla, a community on Annette Island in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area of the U.S.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 3,344 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,403 enplanements in 2009, and 4,140 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,621 miles (17,093 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Metlakatla Seaplane Base (MTM) is Annette Island Airport (ANN), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) S of MTM.