Nonstop flight route between Teesside, England, United Kingdom and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME), Teesside, England, United Kingdom and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,619 miles (or 7,433 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 Durham Tees Valley Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Durham Tees Valley Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. 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 Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME):

• Durham Tees Valley Airport handled 161,092 passengers last year.
• In 1974, the shares were divided between the newly formed Cleveland and Durham County Councils.
• In 2010, Vancouver Airport Services purchased a controlling 65% stake in Peel Airports Ltd and in December 2011, Peel Airports placed the airport up for sale, sparking fear of closure amongst the staff and local population.
• Whilst the airport has its own railway station which continues the name Teesside Airport, rail links are poor as this remote station, some distance from the terminal building, is now served by only two trains per week.
• The closest airport to Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME) is Newcastle Airport (NCL), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) NNW of MME.
• Because of Durham Tees Valley Airport's relatively low elevation of 120 feet, planes can take off or land at Durham Tees Valley 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 furthest airport from Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,741 miles (18,895 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Durham Tees Valley Airport (MME) currently has only 1 runway.
• The majority shareholder in the airport is Peel Investments Ltd which owns 89%, while the remaining 11% is owned by a consortium of local authorities, consisting of County Durham, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Councils.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• On 1 August 1946, McChord was assigned to the new Air Defense Command, with a mission of air defense of the United States.
• The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• In 1917, the citizens of Pierce County, Washington approved a bond measure for $2,000,000 to buy 70,000 acres of land to be donated to the Federal Government for use as a military reservation.
• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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 1947 Tactical Air Command moved the 62d Troop Carrier Group to McChord Field from Bergstrom Field, Texas.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• Starting in mid-1943 the training of B-17 and B-24 replacement crews began to be phased out, as the Second Air Force began ramping up training of B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy bomb groups, destined for Twentieth Air Force.
• In 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.