Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Florida, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Melbourne, Florida, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,258 miles (or 6,852 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne 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 Melbourne International Airport (MLB):

• In 1969 a National DC-8 flew Los Angeles-Tampa-Melbourne-Miami.
• In the year ending June 30, 2009 the airport had 133,576 aircraft operations.
• Passengers rose 70% in 2010 over 2009, as US Airways restarted service and Delta expanded.
• Melbourne International Airport (MLB) has 3 runways.
• Front view of Melbourne International Airport
• Scheduled airline flights began in 1953.
• Because of Melbourne International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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 the early 1980s some ending scenes for the film Stranger Than Paradise were shot in the Melbourne area, including several plot scenes shot at the Airport.
• The closest airport to Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Patrick Air Force Base (COF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNE of MLB.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,549 miles (18,586 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Delta Airlines started nonstops to Atlanta in 1983.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.