Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and New Orleans, Louisiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Lakefront Airport (NEW), New Orleans, Louisiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,549 miles (or 7,321 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 Lakefront 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 Lakefront 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):

• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Lakefront Airport (NEW):

• In addition to being known as "Lakefront Airport", another name for NEW is "(former New Orleans Army Air Base)".
• The furthest airport from Lakefront Airport (NEW) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,127 miles (17,908 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Lakefront Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakefront 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.
• Lakefront Airport was damaged by hurricane-force winds and the storm surge of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a number of the hangars and outlying buildings were destroyed.
• Lakefront Airport was badly damaged by storm surge during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and again during Hurricane Isaac in 2012.
• The closest airport to Lakefront Airport (NEW) is Southern Seaplane Airport (BCS), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) S of NEW.
• Lakefront Airport (NEW) has 3 runways.
• Post-Katrina reconstruction at the airport has included restoration of the main terminal building's original Art Deco facade.
• Lakefront Airport covers an area of 473 acres at an elevation of 7 feet above mean sea level.