Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,328 miles (or 8,574 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 Francisco International Airport and RAF Benson, 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 Francisco International Airport and RAF Benson. 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 Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• The San Francisco International Airport BART station, located in Parking Garage G of the International Terminal, is the only direct rail link between the airport, the city of San Francisco, and the general Bay Area.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• Before the 1930s, airports used a two-byte abbreviation.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.
• Formerly known as the "South Terminal," Terminal 1 has Boarding Area B and Boarding Area C.
• In 1989 a master plan and Environmental Impact Report were prepared to guide development over the next two decades.

Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):

• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Its Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito aircraft flew missions over occupied Europe, for example bringing back battle damage assessment pictures after Operation Chastise.
• Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force station near Benson in South Oxfordshire, England.
• The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.