Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Roanoke, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,785 miles (or 6,092 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional 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 constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• Originally 5,900 feet in length, an expansion to lengthen Runway 6/24 was originally envisioned in the 1970s.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• Piedmont service originally commenced on April 16, 1948, with only a pair of flights, which carried 42 passengers.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• Local residents and businesses sometimes complain about the airport's limited number of non-stop flights and lack of low priced fares.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Between 1984–1985, the city of Roanoke developed an Airport Master Plan calling for $43.8 million to be spent in the development of a new terminal building, in addition to other improvements throughout the site.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 315,293 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 297,588 enplanements in 2009, and 316,478 in 2010.