Nonstop flight route between Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tanacross, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom and Tanacross Airport (TSG), Tanacross, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,219 miles (or 6,790 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 Tanacross 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 Tanacross 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):

• 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 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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.
• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.

Facts about Tanacross Airport (TSG):

• The closest airport to Tanacross Airport (TSG) is Tok Airport (TKJ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of TSG.
• Constructed 1943, activated September 20 by Air Transport Command as Station #16, Alaskan Wing, later 1464th AAFBU.
• Tanacross Airport (TSG) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Tanacross Airport", another name for TSG is "Tanacross Air Base".
• The furthest airport from Tanacross Airport (TSG) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,351 miles (16,659 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.