Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Nelson Lagoon, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG), Nelson Lagoon, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,903 miles (or 7,891 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 Nelson Lagoon 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 Nelson Lagoon 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):

• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.
• 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 Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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.

Facts about Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG):

• Nelson Lagoon Airport has one runway designated 8/26 with a gravel surface measuring 4,000 by 75 feet.
• The closest airport to Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG) is Port Moller Airport (PML), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) E of NLG.
• The furthest airport from Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,914 miles (17,564 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 290 commercial passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, a decrease of 4% from the 302 enplanements in 2007.
• Nelson Lagoon Airport (NLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Nelson Lagoon Airport", another name for NLG is "OUL".
• Because of Nelson Lagoon Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Nelson Lagoon 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.