Nonstop flight route between Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM), Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States and Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,100 miles (or 8,207 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 Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport and Gatwick 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 Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport and Gatwick 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 Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 414 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 505 enplanements in 2009, and 369 in 2010.
• Because of Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport's high elevation of 4,200 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALM. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALM a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport covers an area of 1,465 acres at an elevation of 4,200 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,319 miles (18,217 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) is Holloman Air Force Base Alamogordo Army Airfield (HMN), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) W of ALM.
• Alamogordo–White Sands Regional Airport (ALM) has 2 runways.
• The airport installed an 8-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array in November 2008, using a $100,000 grant from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• Beginning in the late 1950s, a number of British contemporary private airlines joined Airwork at the airport.
• The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A second 875-foot extension of Gatwick's runway was completed in 1970, bringing it to 9,075 ft and permitting non-stop jet flights to the US east coast with a full payload and full range and payload operations by British United Airways and Caledonian Airways BAC One-Eleven 500s.BEA Airtours made Gatwick their base.
• The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal on 17 May 1936, bound for Paris.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• Pope John Paul II arrived at the airport on 28 May 1982 on an Alitalia Boeing 727-200 Advanced, beginning the first papal visit to the United Kingdom.
• Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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.