Nonstop flight route between Bethel, Alaska, United States and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bethel Airport (BET), Bethel, Alaska, United States and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,612 miles (or 7,423 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 Bethel Airport and London Heathrow 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 Bethel Airport and London Heathrow 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 Bethel Airport (BET):

• In addition to being known as "Bethel Airport", other names for BET include "(former Bethel Air Base)" and "(former Todd Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Bethel Airport (BET) is Bethel Seaplane Base (JBT), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) E of BET.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 140,291 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 134,848 enplanements in 2009, and 144,353 in 2010.
• Because of Bethel Airport's relatively low elevation of 126 feet, planes can take off or land at Bethel 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.
• Bethel Airport (BET) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Bethel Airport (BET) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,584 miles (17,034 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.

Facts about London Heathrow Airport (LHR):

• When runway alternation was introduced, aircraft generated significantly more noise on departure than when landing, so a preference for westerly operations during daylight was introduced, which continues to this day.
• The furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Heathrow airport has its own resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world.
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
• With only two runways, operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the increasing use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 will allow some increase in passenger numbers.
• Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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.
• As the airport is west of London and as its runways run east–west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the conurbation of London when the wind is from the west.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• Until it was required to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports, Heathrow Airport Holdings held a dominant position in the London aviation market, and has been heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority as to how much it can charge airline to land.