Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR), Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,539 miles (or 5,696 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport, 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 Gerald R. Ford International Airport. 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):

• In the beginning Prestwick was the only Scottish airport allowed to operate a transatlantic link, largely due to the benign weather conditions on the Ayrshire coast.
• There had been proposed plans drawn up pre-war for the post war years which would have been classed as extremely ambitious, especially in the austere post-war years.
• In 1991 the newly privatised British Airports Authority, BAA Limited, consolidated their portfolio of UK airports.
• 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.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
• However on 21 April 2008, during a BBC Two radio interview with Ken Bruce, theatre impresario and chairman of Everton F.C., Bill Kenwright, said that Elvis actually spent a day in the UK being shown around London by Tommy Steele in 1958.
• 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 is considered to be the only piece of United Kingdom territory on which Elvis Presley ever set foot, when the United States Army transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, en route from Germany.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
• 1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "Canadian entrepreneur" Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue".
• 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.

Facts about Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR):

• On January 27, 1977 Kent County Airport was renamed Kent County International Airport with the opening of a U.S.
• The furthest airport from Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,165 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) has 3 runways.
• When new baggage screening regulations were introduced by the Transportation Security Administration in 2002, the airport was one of the first in the nation to conduct trials on the new screening machines.
• 81,221,489 pounds of air freight were handled in 2012, representing an increase of 0.6% over the previous year.
• Because of Gerald R. Ford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 794 feet, planes can take off or land at Gerald R. Ford International 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.
• An outdoor viewing area on Kraft Avenue north of 52nd Street has picnic tables, litter barrels, and a portable toilet.
• The closest airport to Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) is Park Township Airport (HLM), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) W of GRR.