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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Punta Gorda Airport (PGD), Punta Gorda, Florida, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,374 miles (or 7,039 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 Punta Gorda 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 Punta Gorda 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 Punta Gorda Airport (PGD):

• Airline service resumed on November 22, 2008 when low-cost carrier Direct Air began twice weekly service to 10 cities in the eastern US.
• Because of Punta Gorda Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Punta Gorda 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 27th Service Group, an all-black unit, was moved from McDill Field near Tampa to provide training for support services to the air combat units.
• Vision Airlines and Direct Air ended all service to PGD in 2012.
• Punta Gorda Airport handled 149,141 passengers last year.
• The base initially had forty Curtis P-40 Warhawks assigned, later transitioning to the North American P-51 Mustang.
• The furthest airport from Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,471 miles (18,461 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) is Page Field (FMY), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) SSE of PGD.
• Following the war, the US Government issued a Deed of Release transferring all of the fixtures and improvements situated on the property to Charlotte County.
• Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Punta Gorda Airport", another name for PGD is "(Formerly Charlotte County Airport)".
• Punta Gorda Airport covers 1,934 acres at an elevation of 26 feet.

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.
• 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.
• In 1950, as a result of the beginning of the Cold War, the airfield was transferred to the U.S.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.