Nonstop flight route between Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom and St. Mary's, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bristol Filton Airport (FZO), Filton, Bristol, United Kingdom and St. Mary's Airport (KSM), St. Mary's, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,518 miles (or 7,271 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 Bristol Filton Airport and St. Mary's 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 Bristol Filton Airport and St. Mary's 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 Bristol Filton Airport (FZO):

• In the early 1960s, a new Filton bypass was constructed, roughly parallel to the old one, and this later became part of the M5 motorway.
• Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Bristol Airport (BRS), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSW of FZO.
• Because of Bristol Filton Airport's relatively low elevation of 225 feet, planes can take off or land at Bristol Filton 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.
• The airfield is bounded by the A38 trunk road to the east, the former London to Avonmouth railway line to the south and the Old Filton Bypass road to the north west.
• During World War I, RFC Filton was mainly used as an aircraft acceptance facility.
• In addition to being known as "Bristol Filton Airport", another name for FZO is "Filton Aerodrome".
• The furthest airport from Bristol Filton Airport (FZO) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,930 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Before World War II, there were only grass runways at Filton.
• During the late 1990s and up to 2010 Douglas DC8 and Boeing 747-200 aircraft flew regularly in and out of Filton, as at the time Filton was the maintenance base for MK Airlines.
• After WW2, the concrete runway at Filton Aerodrome was extended westwards to enable the huge Bristol Brabazon airliner to take-off safely.

Facts about St. Mary's Airport (KSM):

• The closest airport to St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Mountain Village Airport (MOU), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of KSM.
• The furthest airport from St. Mary's Airport (KSM) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,494 miles (16,889 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• Because of St. Mary's Airport's relatively low elevation of 312 feet, planes can take off or land at St. Mary's 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.
• St. Mary's Airport (KSM) has 2 runways.