Nonstop flight route between Salt Lake City, Utah, United States and Fairford, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah, United States and RAF Fairford (FFD), Fairford, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,801 miles (or 7,726 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 Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC):

• In 1911 a site for an air field was chosen on Basque Flats, named for Spanish-French sheep herders who worked the fields in the then-desolate area of the Salt Lake Valley.
• The closest airport to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is Skypark Airport (BTF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNE of SLC.
• Because of Salt Lake City International Airport's high elevation of 4,227 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SLC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SLC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Salt Lake City International Airport handled 20,102,078 passengers last year.
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) has 4 runways.
• The first terminal and airport administration building was built in 1933 at a cost of $52,000.
• Concourse E was expanded in 2001 for additional gates.
• The furthest airport from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,958 miles (17,635 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Boeing Aircraft Company operates a manufacturing plant at the airport which manufactures vertical stabilizers and horizontal stabilizers for the Boeing 787 as well as components for the Boeing 737.

Facts about RAF Fairford (FFD):

• KC-135 and KC-10 tankers deployed to Fairford supported Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya in 1986.
• 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.
• The closest airport to RAF Fairford (FFD) is RAF Brize Norton (BZZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ENE of FFD.
• In the early years of the Cold War the British and American governments reached an agreement under which elements of the USAF Strategic Air Command would be based in the UK.
• RAF Fairford is also the home of the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display.
• 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.
• On 15 September 2009, it was announced that the USAF will withdraw all their uniformed staff from the station by September 2010, after which it will be run on a "care and maintenance" basis.