Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,579 miles (or 7,369 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field, 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field. 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):

• The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
• 1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "Canadian entrepreneur" Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue".
• In 1991 the newly privatised British Airports Authority, BAA Limited, consolidated their portfolio of UK airports.
• In physical terms, Prestwick is Scotland's largest commercial airfield, although in passenger traffic terms it sits in fourth place after Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow International, and Aberdeen Airport.
• Since 2007 the airport has occasionally been used by BBC motoring TV show Top Gear as the location for various stunts and experiments.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The United States Air Force operated a base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force facilities 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS.
• Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
• 2009 saw the unit break a new record as they were tasked to 447 call outs.

Facts about Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD):

• The closest airport to Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of EFD.
• Though the 111th Observation Squadron had the excess World War I storage and maintenance facilities at Ellington Field, the squadron did not have a true headquarters building.
• In addition to being known as "Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field", another name for EFD is "Ellington Field JRB".
• Ellington Field was also a site for the USAAC Bombardier School, also known as "the Bombardment Academy of the Air." At Ellington Field, officials planned to train 4,480 bombardier cadets per year.
• For the first months of operation, Ellington Field had no pilot fatalities.
• By the end of 1943, more than 65 women who served in the Women's Army Corps were also stationed at Ellington.
• During World War I, Ellington served as an advanced flight training base.
• Also the possibility of a new municipal airfield endangered the existence of Ellington Field, rumors circulated throughout the Texas National Guard that the War Department wanted to transfer the aviation schools at Kelly and Brooks Fields to Houston.
• The $80 million construction project includes a 40,000-square-foot Battle Command Training Center, which simulates war conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan., a second Armed Forces Reserve Center with an assembly hall and offices, a Welcome Center, which will handle retention, recruitment and military identification services.
• The furthest airport from Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• New construction designated under the "Grow the Army" project was completed in 2010.