Nonstop flight route between Leeds / Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA), Leeds / Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,864 miles (or 6,218 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 Leeds Bradford International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, 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 Leeds Bradford International Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. 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 Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA):

• Leeds Bradford International Airport is located at Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, 6 nautical miles northwest of Leeds city centre itself.
• Aircraft that would have been based at Yeadon.
• Initially the airport had restricted operating hours, and this deterred many charter airlines, whose cheap fares depended on 'round-the-clock' use of their aircraft.
• The original runway was closed on 6 October 2005, to be redeveloped as a taxiway and to provide additional apron space.
• 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.
• 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.
• Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBA) is Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) SSE of LBA.
• Leeds Bradford International Airport handled 3,318,358 passengers last year.
• On 11 August 2009 Ryanair announced it would set up a new base at Leeds Bradford, initially basing two aircraft at the airport offering 17 routes from March 2010.
• On 4 November 1984, the day the runway extension was officially opened, Wardair commenced transatlantic flights from Leeds Bradford to Toronto, using Boeing 747s, though these flights were later discontinued.
• 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.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• In addition to the interceptor squadrons, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center was established at Grand Forks in 1958.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• In May 2005, DoD's 2005 BRAC recommended GFAFB for realignment.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• During the Cold War, GFAFB was a major installation of the Strategic Air Command, with B-52 bombers, KC-135 tankers, and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".