Nonstop flight route between Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Indiana (near Chicago), United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,882 miles (or 6,248 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 Gary/Chicago International 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 Gary/Chicago International 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 Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY):

• Because of Gary/Chicago International Airport's relatively low elevation of 591 feet, planes can take off or land at Gary/Chicago 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.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport was once served by Pan Am, Southeast Airlines, SkyValue Airlines, Skybus Airlines and Hooters Air, with flights to cities such as Hartford, Connecticut.
• The furthest airport from Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,868 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On May 24, 2013 Allegiant Air reported it was cancelling air service out of Gary in August.
• Expanding Gary/Chicago Airport is an alternative to constructing a new airport near Peotone, Illinois, 30 miles south of Chicago.
• The closest airport to Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NW of GYY.
• Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) has 2 runways.

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 closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.