Nonstop flight route between Marion, Illinois, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MWA to FFD:
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- About this route
- MWA Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about MWA
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to MWA
- List of Nearest Airports to MWA
- Map of Furthest Airports from MWA
- List of Furthest Airports from MWA
- Map of Nearest Airports to FFD
- List of Nearest Airports to FFD
- Map of Furthest Airports from FFD
- List of Furthest Airports from FFD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA), Marion, Illinois, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,127 miles (or 6,641 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 Williamson County Regional 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 Williamson County Regional Airport and RAF Fairford. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MWA / KMWA |
Airport Name: | Williamson County Regional Airport |
Location: | Marion, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°45'18"N by 89°0'39"W |
Area Served: | Marion, Illinois |
Operator/Owner: | Williamson County Airport Authority |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 472 feet (144 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MWA |
More Information: | MWA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | FFD / EGVA |
Airport Name: | RAF Fairford |
Location: | Fairford, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°40'55"N by 1°47'24"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from FFD |
More Information: | FFD Maps & Info |
Facts about Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA):
- Because of Williamson County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 472 feet, planes can take off or land at Williamson County Regional 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 Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,065 miles (17,807 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA) has 2 runways.
- On November 6, 2006 Mesa Airlines announced that new service to Chicago Midway International Airport would begin in February 2007 operated by subsidiary Air Midwest, with service to Decatur Airport in Decatur, Illinois, and continuing to Chicago Midway International Airport direct.
- Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 3,631 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,399 in 2009 and 8,047 in 2010.
- The closest airport to Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA) is Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) W of MWA.
Facts about RAF Fairford (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.
- 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.
- 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 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
- RAF Fairford was the only TransOceanic Abort Landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle in the UK.
- The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
- 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.
- On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.