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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Manchester Airport (MAN), Manchester, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,502 miles (or 7,245 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 Manchester 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 Manchester 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.
• The weapons storage area for the bombers was located south of the runway at Deep Creek Air Force Station, a separate installation constructed from 1950 to 1953 by the Atomic Energy Commission and operated by the Air Materiel Command.
• Since 1942, Fairchild Air Force Base/Station has been a key part of the United States' defense strategy—from World War II repair depot, to Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the Cold War, to Air Mobility Command air refueling wing during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• On 1 September 1991, under Air Force reorganization, the 92d Bombardment Wing was re-designated the 92d Wing, emphasizing a dual bombing and refueling role.
• At the time of the shooting, Fairchild's hospital was an ungated facility.
• In June 1992, with the inactivation of Strategic Air Command, the B-52 portion of the wing became part of the newly established Air Combat Command and was re-designated the 92d Bomb Wing.
• On 23 January 1987, following the inactivation of the 47th Air Division at Fairchild, the 92nd Bombardment Wing was reassigned to the 57th Air Division at Minot AFB, North Dakota.

Facts about Manchester Airport (MAN):

• Because of Manchester Airport's relatively low elevation of 257 feet, planes can take off or land at Manchester 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.
• Manchester Airport (MAN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Manchester Airport (MAN) is Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) W of MAN.
• Terminal 3 acquired an extra security control area in November 2007, near check-in area C, dedicated to passengers travelling to Common Travel Area destinations.
• Manchester also offers more destinations than some of the biggest airports in the U.S.A., including New York-JFK, although it is still slightly behind the three biggest 'hubs' in the global aviation network – Atlanta, Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam – which each offer more than 250 destinations.
• Manchester Airport handled 20,751,581 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Manchester Airport (MAN) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,824 miles (19,029 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Terminal 3 was known in succession as "Terminal 1 – British Airways", "Terminal 1A" and "Terminal 3 – British Airways and Domestic” before becoming simply known as Terminal 3This Terminal now handles the majority of domestic routes from Manchester as well as some scheduled European flights and a few intercontinental flights.The terminal was opened in 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales as 'Terminal 1 Domestic' before re-designating as Terminal 3 in May 1998.
• North American carriers at Manchester include American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways.