Nonstop flight route between San Antonio, Texas, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Antonio International Airport (SAT), San Antonio, Texas, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,913 miles (or 7,906 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 San Antonio International 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 San Antonio International 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 San Antonio International Airport (SAT):

• Airport officials produce a 30-minute news program about once every quarter.
• The 77th Reconnaissance Group, equipped with various aircraft trained reconnaissance personnel who later served overseas.
• San Antonio International Airport handled 8,034,720 passengers last year.
• On November 9, 2010, Terminal 2 closed, and the new Terminal B was opened.
• San Antonio International Airport (SAT) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is Randolph Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (RND), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) E of SAT.
• Because of San Antonio International Airport's relatively low elevation of 809 feet, planes can take off or land at San Antonio 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.
• The furthest airport from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,114 miles (17,886 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• San Antonio closed the end of the 20th century with over 3.5 million passenger boardings in 1999.
• Airport diagram for March 1962

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• RAF Fairford was constructed in 1944 to serve as an airfield for British and American troop carriers and gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II.