Nonstop flight route between Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN), Jackson, Mississippi, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,437 miles (or 7,140 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 Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers 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 Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers 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 Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN):

• Because of Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport's relatively low elevation of 346 feet, planes can take off or land at Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers 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.
• The closest airport to Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN) is Hawkins Field (HKS), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of JAN.
• The airport has an L-shaped terminal, with the tarmac extending north.
• In the 1960s, Southern Airways Martin 404s connected Jackson with Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenwood, Columbus, Laurel, and New Orleans, but in the 1970s Southern replaced these with McDonnell Douglas DC-9s.
• Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,979 miles (17,669 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.