Nonstop flight route between Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and Zhaotong, Yunnan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shoreham Airport (ESH), Lancing, West Sussex, United Kingdom and Zhaotong Airport (ZAT), Zhaotong, Yunnan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,342 miles (or 8,596 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 Zhaotong 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 Zhaotong 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):

• The closest airport to Shoreham Airport (ESH) is Chichester/Goodwood Airport (QUG), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) W of ESH.
• In 2006, due to mounting debts the airport was sold by the local authority to a property company on a 150-year lease.
• The Shoreham Airport Rescue and Firefighting Service provides a professional fire-fighting capability at the airport during operating hours.
• Shoreham Airport (ESH) has 4 runways.
• Shoreham Airport handled 1,500 passengers last year.
• There is one terminal building at Shoreham, with a central reception and information desk, together with flight indicator boards announcing all arrivals and departures.
• In 1949, F G Miles Engineering Ltd moved to Shoreham from Redhill Aerodrome and soon occupied the repaired Municipal Hangar.
• During the Second World War the airfield operated a variety of military aircraft including Westland Lysanders that were later replaced by Supermarine Spitfires, Hawker Hurricanes, Boulton Paul Defiants and a pair of Bristol Beaufighters.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Shoreham Airport", another name for ESH is "Shoreham (Brighton City) Airport".
• The first aviator to fly there was Harold Piffard in 1910.

Facts about Zhaotong Airport (ZAT):

• The furthest airport from Zhaotong Airport (ZAT) is Chañaral Airport (CNR), which is nearly antipodal to Zhaotong Airport (meaning Zhaotong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chañaral Airport), and is located 12,083 miles (19,445 kilometers) away in Chañaral, Atacama Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Zhaotong Airport (ZAT) is Bijie Feixiong Airport (BFJ), which is located 95 miles (153 kilometers) E of ZAT.
• In addition to being known as "Zhaotong Airport", other names for ZAT include "昭通机场" and "Zhāotōng Jīchǎng".