Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Sarasota, Florida (near Bradenton), United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), Sarasota, Florida (near Bradenton), United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,373 miles (or 7,038 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 Sarasota–Bradenton 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 Sarasota–Bradenton 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):

• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
• 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 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 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 Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ):

• SRQ's first airline was National, in 1947.
• During the years before and after World War II, SRQ was known by its two-character designation, RS.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 657,157 enplanements in calendar year 2011, 2% less than in 2010.
• Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,404 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Sarasota–Bradenton 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.
• In 2003 AirTran Airways began service as the result of a nationwide marketing poll sponsored by the airline.
• The closest airport to Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is Venice Municipal Airport (VNC), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SSE of SRQ.