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):

• 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.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.
• 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 airport has service to destinations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia.
• A new control tower was built beginning in 2001 and opened November 2004, at a cost of $26 million.
• In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
• 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.
• The airport is also served both by the King County Metro bus system and Sound Transit regional express buses.
• Starting in the late 1980s, the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that airport could reach capacity by 2000.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.

Facts about RAF Fairford (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 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.
• Due to RAF Fairford's location and infrastructure, the airfield is designated as a forward operating location for the US Air Force.
• The 422nd ABG at RAF Croughton and the 420th Air Base Squadron are responsible for the day-to-day operations of RAF Fairford, ensuring that it has adequate resources.
• 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.