Nonstop flight route between Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shoreham Airport (ESH), Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,391 miles (or 8,675 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 Shoreham Airport and San Francisco International 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 Shoreham Airport and San Francisco International 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 Shoreham Airport (ESH):

• Shoreham Airport handled 1,500 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Shoreham Airport", another name for ESH is "Shoreham (Brighton City) Airport".
• The 2007 show raised in excess of £150,000 for the Royal Air Forces Association, a record achievement.
• The furthest airport from Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,919 miles (19,182 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Shoreham Airport Rescue and Firefighting Service provides a professional fire-fighting capability at the airport during operating hours.
• Because of Shoreham Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Shoreham 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 first aviator to fly there was Harold Piffard in 1910.
• In 1949, F G Miles Engineering Ltd moved to Shoreham from Redhill Aerodrome and soon occupied the repaired Municipal Hangar.
• The airfield was bombed several times and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 was shot down by ground fire during one such attack, crash-landing near the terminal building.
• The closest airport to Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chichester/Goodwood Airport (QUG), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) W of ESH.
• Shoreham Airport (ESH) has 4 runways.

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• For lack of space, the terminal was built on top of the airport's main access road at enormous expense, completing the continuous ring of terminals.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• Formerly known as the "South Terminal," Terminal 1 has Boarding Area B and Boarding Area C.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• The FAA has warned that the airport's control tower would be unable to withstand a major earthquake and has requested that it be replaced.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco International 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.
• A long-planned extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to the airport opened on June 22, 2003, allowing passengers to board BART trains at the international terminal to San Francisco or the East Bay.
• In summer 2011, Lufthansa and Air France operated the Airbus A380 at SFO seasonally, the first A380 scheduled service to the airport.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• The first international nonstops were ANA/BCPA DC-4s to Vancouver in 1946-47.