Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia (near Virginia Beach and Williamsburg), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,650 miles (or 5,874 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 Norfolk International 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 Norfolk International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.

Facts about Norfolk International Airport (ORF):

• The airport's largest capital improvement project, Arrival 2002, was completed in June 2002.
• In 1974, the airport dedicated its new, state-of-the-art terminal and additional land was secured for further expansion.
• The closest airport to Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) WNW of ORF.
• General aviation services, or fixed based operations, are provided by Landmark Aviation with full-service facilities for maintaining and housing private and corporate aircraft.
• Norfolk International Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Norfolk, an independent city in the U.S.
• Food, beverage and retail concessions are located throughout the main departures terminal lobby and both airline concourses.
• In 1950, responsibility for the airport was turned over to the newly established Norfolk Port and Industrial Authority which could proudly call Norfolk Municipal Airport one of the finest in the nation and one of the busiest.
• Because of Norfolk International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Norfolk International 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 furthest airport from Norfolk International Airport (ORF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,769 miles (18,940 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The crosswind runway's was closed for renovations on December 19, 2009 and reopened in Spring 2011.
• Norfolk International Airport (ORF) has 2 runways.
• In 2012, Norfolk Airport served 3,299,728 total passengers, a 3.33 percent increase compared to the previous year, which saw a total passenger count of 3,193,388.