Nonstop flight route between SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,739 miles (or 7,627 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 Seattle–Tacoma 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 Seattle–Tacoma 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 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA):

• Because of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Seattle–Tacoma 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 two-story North Concourse added four new gate positions and a new wing 600 feet long and 30 feet wide.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.
• A recurring problem at the airport is misidentification of the westernmost taxiway, Taxiway Tango, as a runway.
• The closest airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SEA.
• The furthest airport from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.
• Interstate 5 and its offshoot Interstate 405 intersect very close to the airport, and most people use private vehicles to arrive at the airport.
• The airport was constructed by the Port of Seattle in 1944 to serve civilians of the region, after the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
• The South Satellite Terminal has reached its maximum capacity for handling international passengers in terms of immigration check stands as well as customs declaration.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• On 12 May 2005, USAFE activated the 501st Combat Support Wing, with headquarters at RAF Alconbury, to provide support to its GSUs in the United Kingdom.
• 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.
• Fairford was chosen in 1969 as the British test centre for the Concorde aircraft, which continued until 1977.
• 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 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.