Nonstop flight route between Birmingham, England, United Kingdom and West Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Birmingham Airport (BHX), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom and DuPage Airport (DPA), West Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,878 miles (or 6,242 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 Birmingham Airport and DuPage 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 Birmingham Airport and DuPage 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 Birmingham Airport (BHX):

• Although initial plans for a second runway were scrapped, this is now firmly back on the airports agenda ahead of the report into Britains aviation strategy being published.
• Birmingham Airport handled 9,120,201 passengers last year.
• It is primarily served by the A45 main road, and is near Junction 6 of the M42 motorway.
• The closest airport to Birmingham Airport (BHX) is Coventry Airport (CVT), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of BHX.
• 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.
• 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.
• The extension will increase the runway length from the present 2,605 m to 3,003 m, the main plan was to have a 150m starter extension along with the 400m extension but because the plan for the tunnel had been cancelled because of costs the runway length will be 3,050 m.There will be a loop taxiway from which planes will taxi to the runway and then takeoff.
• Birmingham has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
• Birmingham Airport (BHX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Originally, the target for completion was in time for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.
• It's also been estimated that if these plans were to go ahead, the airport could handle around 70,000,000 passengers annually, and around 500,000 aircraft movements.
• 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.

Facts about DuPage Airport (DPA):

• The furthest airport from DuPage Airport (DPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,056 miles (17,792 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of DuPage Airport's relatively low elevation of 759 feet, planes can take off or land at DuPage 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.
• However, planners learned a lesson from the plight of the beleaguered, land-locked Midway Airport.
• The closest airport to DuPage Airport (DPA) is Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of DPA.
• The airport has faced severe political criticism in the 1980s and 1990s.
• The airport grew from 900 acres in 1985 to 2,800 acres by 1992, with the goal of maintaining control of all the property surrounding the runway complex.
• DuPage Airport (DPA) has 4 runways.