Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,343 miles (or 6,990 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 Tampa 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 Tampa 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):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.

Facts about Tampa International Airport (TPA):

• The airport's people mover system was the first such system in the world.
• Today an overnight aircraft hardstand and an automated baggage sorting facility for Airside A sit on the former site.
• The original TPA airsides were designed in the mid-1960s as four identical facilities.
• Airport conveniences that are free of charge include passenger paging, wireless Internet access, cell phone waiting lot with flight information, shuttle service from the economy garage, real-time flight information and travelers aid services.
• At this time, new runway is being planned to increase capacity in fair-weather conditions.
• Tampa International Airport (TPA) has 3 runways.
• Because of Tampa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Tampa 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.
• During the following decades, the airport was expanded to handle more traffic and additional airlines.
• The closest airport to Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SE of TPA.
• Trans Canada Airlines inaugurated international flights in 1950 and Drew Field was renamed Tampa International Airport.
• The furthest airport from Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,435 miles (18,403 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.