Nonstop flight route between Guápiles, Costa Rica and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Guápiles Airport (GPL), Guápiles, Costa Rica and Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,394 miles (or 8,680 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 Guápiles 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 Guápiles 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 Guápiles Airport (GPL):

• Guápiles Airport (GPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Guápiles Airport's relatively low elevation of 883 feet, planes can take off or land at Guápiles 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 Guápiles Airport (GPL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Guápiles Airport (meaning Guápiles Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,294 miles (19,785 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Guápiles Airport (GPL) is Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) SW of GPL.

Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• BEA Helicopters made Gatwick their administrative and engineering base on 1 January 1964.
• 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.
• Although the airport was officially decommissioned in 1946, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation continued operating it as a civil airfield.
• The name "Gatwick" was first recorded as "Gatwik" in 1241 on the site of today's airport, on the northern edge of the North Terminal's aircraft taxiing area.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• In November 1948, the airport's owners warned that it might revert to private use by November 1949.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• In 1935, a new airline, Allied British Airways, was formed with the merger of Hillman's Airways, United Airways and Spartan Airways.
• By the late 1970s, government initiatives supporting Gatwick's development resulted in steady growth in passenger traffic.