Nonstop flight route between Smyrna, Tennessee, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Smyrna Airport (MQY), Smyrna, Tennessee, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,112 miles (or 6,618 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 Smyrna 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 Smyrna 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 Smyrna Airport (MQY):

• Smyrna Airport currently operates as a joint use training facility with a Tennessee Army National Guard helicopter unit, Army Aviation Support Facility #1, which operates 60 helicopters with 300 full-time Army National Guard personnel.
• The furthest airport from Smyrna Airport (MQY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,207 miles (18,036 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Smyrna Airport's relatively low elevation of 543 feet, planes can take off or land at Smyrna 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 closest airport to Smyrna Airport (MQY) is Nashville International Airport (BNA), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) NW of MQY.
• Smyrna Airport (MQY) has 2 runways.
• Smyrna Airport is a public general aviation and military use airport located two nautical miles north of the central business district of Smyrna, a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a reliever airport for Nashville International Airport, which is located twelve nautical miles to the north.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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 is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• Due to the deteriorating airfield facilities and its unique NATO heavy bomber mission, RAF Fairford underwent a $100 million upgrade of its runway and fuel systems in the largest NATO funded airfield construction project within a NATO country since the end of the Cold War.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.