Nonstop flight route between Leeds / Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA), Leeds / Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 151 miles (or 243 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 relatively short distance between Leeds Bradford International Airport and RAF Fairford, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA):

• Work on the airport terminal has been ongoing since 1996, and the result of this has been significant growth in terminal size and passenger facilities.
• Leeds Bradford International Airport handled 3,318,358 passengers last year.
• In 2006 Isle of Man based airline Manx2 re-opened the airport's oldest air route, to the Isle of Man.
• Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The original runway was closed on 6 October 2005, to be redeveloped as a taxiway and to provide additional apron space.
• Because of Leeds Bradford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 681 feet, planes can take off or land at Leeds Bradford 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.
• In 2012, Monarch announced it would open an operation base at the airport in 2013.
• The closest airport to Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) is Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) SSE of LBA.
• The furthest airport from Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,780 miles (18,959 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Civil flights recommenced at the airport in 1947, after Geoff Rennard fought for Leeds and Bradford to have an aerodrome, and eventually gained permission for an Aero Club.
• In November 2008 the early stages of the airport masterplan were clarified, with in-depth detailed plans for the expansion of the airport terminal being published, at an estimated cost of £28 million.
• In 2013, BMI Regional ceased all flights from Leeds/Bradford, it is said the airport are looking for a replacement airline to operate the Brussels route.
• Since 2008 the redevelopment plans have remained largely unchanged, however the proposed external appearance of the building has changed, being clad in black instead of the while cladding that had initially been proposed.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• 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.