Nonstop flight route between Long Beach, California, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Long Beach Airport (LGB), Long Beach, California, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,389 miles (or 8,673 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach Airport (LGB):

• Air cargo carriers, including FedEx and UPS, also use LGB.
• Because of Long Beach Airport's relatively low elevation of 60 feet, planes can take off or land at Long Beach 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.
• Between 1990 and 1992, Continental, Delta, TWA, and USAir ended service to the airport, as did American Airlines in early 2006.
• The closest airport to Long Beach Airport (LGB) is Long Beach Airport (JLB), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of LGB.
• Long Beach Airport (LGB) has 5 runways.
• During the 1940s and 1950s, the only airline non-stops from Long Beach Airport were to Los Angeles, San Diego, and sometimes Catalina Island.
• The furthest airport from Long Beach Airport (LGB) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,489 miles (18,489 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Long Beach Airport handled 2,978,433 passengers last year.
• So the Navy had begun a survey for another site — unknown to city officials at the time.

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.
• 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 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.