Nonstop flight route between Garden City, Kansas, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Garden City Regional Airport (GCK), Garden City, Kansas, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,562 miles (or 7,342 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 Garden City Regional Airport and RAF Fairford, 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 Garden City Regional Airport and RAF Fairford. 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 Garden City Regional Airport (GCK):

• Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) has 2 runways.
• Garden City Regional Airport's status as former Garden City AAF helped it serve an important role during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
• The closest airport to Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) is Dodge City Regional Airport (DDC), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ESE of GCK.
• The furthest airport from Garden City Regional Airport (GCK) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,860 miles (17,477 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.