Nonstop flight route between Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wilmington International Airport (ILM), Wilmington, North Carolina, United States and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,923 miles (or 6,313 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 Wilmington International Airport and London Stansted 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 Wilmington International Airport and London Stansted 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 Wilmington International Airport (ILM):

• In addition to being known as "Wilmington International Airport", another name for ILM is "New Hanover County International Airport".
• The furthest airport from Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,693 miles (18,818 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Wilmington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilmington 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.
• During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces Third Air Force for antisubmarine patrols and training.
• A 1,500-square-foot burn pit on the airport property was named a Superfund site on March 31, 1989.
• ILM was one of four airports along the East Coast which served as an emergency abort landing site for the Space Shuttle.
• Wilmington International Airport (ILM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Wilmington International Airport (ILM) is Albert J. Ellis Airport (OAJ), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) NNE of ILM.
• Wilmington International Airport is owned by New Hanover County, North Carolina.

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.
• Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and Chicago, however the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark, but this service was stopped shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted 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.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• From 1997 to 2007 Stansted saw rapid expansion of passenger numbers on the back of the boom in low cost air travel, peaking at 24 million passengers in the 12 months to October 2007, but passenger numbers declined for the subsequent five years to 2012.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• A major expansion programme to the existing terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, adding nearly 5,900 m2 of floorspace to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall and a hypostyle arrivals hall with improved facilities.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• The station was first allocated to the USAAF Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy bomber airfield.
• Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair with over 100 destinations served by the airline.
• Satellite Three has no air gates which suits the preference of Stansted's biggest airline Ryanair of boarding and disembarking with steps.
• Beginning in 1966, after Stansted was placed under BAA control, the airport was used by holiday charter operators wishing to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick.