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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Circle City Airport (IRC), Circle, Alaska, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,077 miles (or 6,561 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 Circle City 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 Circle City 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 Circle City Airport (IRC):

• The closest airport to Circle City Airport (IRC) is Central Airport (CEM), which is located 27 miles (43 kilometers) SW of IRC.
• Circle City Airport (IRC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Circle City Airport covers an area of 324 acres at an elevation of 613 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Circle City Airport (IRC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,196 miles (16,409 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Circle City Airport", another name for IRC is "CRC".
• Because of Circle City Airport's relatively low elevation of 613 feet, planes can take off or land at Circle City 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.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.