Nonstop flight route between Portland, Maine, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PWM to FFD:
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- About this route
- PWM Airport Information
- FFD Airport Information
- Facts about PWM
- Facts about FFD
- Map of Nearest Airports to PWM
- List of Nearest Airports to PWM
- Map of Furthest Airports from PWM
- List of Furthest Airports from PWM
- 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 Portland International Jetport (PWM), Portland, Maine, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,116 miles (or 5,015 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 Portland International Jetport 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 Portland International Jetport 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: | PWM / KPWM |
Airport Name: | Portland International Jetport |
Location: | Portland, Maine, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°38'45"N by 70°18'33"W |
Area Served: | Portland, Maine |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 76 feet (23 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from PWM |
More Information: | PWM 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 Portland International Jetport (PWM):
- The airport is the busiest in the state.
- Portland International Jetport (PWM) has 2 runways.
- Because of Portland International Jetport's relatively low elevation of 76 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland International Jetport 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 Portland International Jetport (PWM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,705 miles (18,838 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- The present airport started to take shape in the 1950s.
- In June 1983 United Airlines arrived in Portland, planning to be the only airline to serve 50 states.
- Boston-Maine Airways had a monopoly on passenger air travel at Portland, which continued after the airline was renamed Northeast Airlines.
- Some service began to return as the industry's economics improved in 2005 and 2006.
- The closest airport to Portland International Jetport (PWM) is Naval Air Station Brunswick (NHZ), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NE of PWM.
Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):
- KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
- The runway was completed in 1953, and served as a forward airbase for the first Convair B-36 Peacemaker aircraft from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.
- Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
- 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.
- RAF Lyneham's position as the primary tactical transport base for the RAF was emphasised in February 1971 when Nos.
- 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.
- RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
- Operations staff and maintenance personnel were permanently assigned, but aircraft, aircrews and crew chiefs were temporarily assigned to the 11th Strategic Group for the European Tanker Task Force on rotation.