Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and San Antonio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and San Antonio International Airport (SAT), San Antonio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,913 miles (or 7,906 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 San Antonio 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 San Antonio 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 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.

Facts about San Antonio International Airport (SAT):

• The furthest airport from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,114 miles (17,886 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In 2008, San Antonio International Airport handled 8,358,515 passengers, up 3.5 percent from the 2007 total, making this the airports fourth consecutive year of increasing passenger numbers.
• The 77th Reconnaissance Group, equipped with various aircraft trained reconnaissance personnel who later served overseas.
• Because of San Antonio International Airport's relatively low elevation of 809 feet, planes can take off or land at San Antonio 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.
• San Antonio International Airport (SAT) has 3 runways.
• At the end of the war the airfield was no longer needed by the military and was turned over to the City of San Antonio for civil use.
• On November 9, 2010, San Antonio International Airport announced the opening of the brand new Terminal B, which contains 8 gates,.
• The closest airport to San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) E of SAT.
• San Antonio International Airport handled 8,034,720 passengers last year.
• San Antonio closed the end of the 20th century with over 3.5 million passenger boardings in 1999.
• The longest flight from San Antonio International Airport is to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, a distance of 1,776 miles, with an average duration of 4 hours 7 minutes.