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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Haines Airport (HNS), Haines, Alaska, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,348 miles (or 6,998 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 Haines 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 Haines 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 Haines Airport (HNS):

• The closest airport to Haines Airport (HNS) is Skagway Airport (SGY), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NNE of HNS.
• The furthest airport from Haines Airport (HNS) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,491 miles (16,883 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Haines Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Haines 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.
• Haines Airport (HNS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Haines Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles west of the central business district of Haines, a city in the Haines Borough in the U.S.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• 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.