Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Birmingham, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Birmingham Airport (BHX), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,563 miles (or 7,343 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Birmingham Airport, 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Birmingham Airport. 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 Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately 12 miles southwest of Spokane, Washington.
• On 1 July 1994, the 92d Bomb Wing was re-designated the 92d Air Refueling Wing, and Fairchild AFB was transferred from ACC to Air Mobility Command in a ceremony marking the creation of the largest air refueling wing in the Air Force.
• As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses and public-minded citizens donated money to purchase land for the base.
• Over 5,100 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, and tenant organization military and civilian employees work on Fairchild, making the base the largest employer in Eastern Washington.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.

Facts about Birmingham Airport (BHX):

• The furthest airport from Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• It is primarily served by the A45 main road, and is near Junction 6 of the M42 motorway.
• In August 2013, the old carriageway of the A45 road was closed and the new carriage way was opened.
• Birmingham Airport handled 9,120,201 passengers last year.
• As part of the proposed High Speed Two rail link, a new railway station called Birmingham Interchange would be built to serve both the airport and the National Exhibition Centre.
• The airport's location south-east of the city, plus the only operational runway being north-west – south-east, means that depending on wind direction, aircraft land or take-off directly over Birmingham.
• The closest airport to Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Coventry Airport (CVT), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of BHX.
• Birmingham handled a record 9.6 million passengers in 2008, and 9.1 million passengers used the airport in 2013, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Birmingham Airport's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham 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.