Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Bedford, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,281 miles (or 5,281 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 Gatwick Airport and Laurence G. Hanscom Field, 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 Gatwick Airport and Laurence G. Hanscom Field. 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• A second 875-foot extension of Gatwick's runway was completed in 1970, bringing it to 9,075 ft and permitting non-stop jet flights to the US east coast with a full payload and full range and payload operations by British United Airways and Caledonian Airways BAC One-Eleven 500s.BEA Airtours made Gatwick their base.
• 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.
• 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 Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• Beginning in the late 1950s, a number of British contemporary private airlines joined Airwork at the airport.
• Gatwick's new air-traffic control tower opened in 1984, the tallest in the UK at the time.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• In May 1950, Gatwick's first charter flight left the airport's original grass runway for Calvi on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
• 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.

Facts about Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED):

• As an airport close to Boston, many teams competing in the Boston area use Hanscom Field.
• The closest airport to Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) ESE of BED.
• New England's oldest and largest flight school based at Hanscom along with their new facility at Lawrence Airport.
• The furthest airport from Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,753 miles (18,914 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Laurence G. Hanscom Field", another name for BED is "Hanscom Air Force Base".
• The Massachusetts Air and Space Museum is looking at Hanscom Field as a future location.
• In 2006, Neil Entwistle was flown from London to Hanscom by U.S.
• Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) has 2 runways.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 8,385 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,350 in 2009, and 7,952 in 2010.
• Because of Laurence G. Hanscom Field's relatively low elevation of 132 feet, planes can take off or land at Laurence G. Hanscom Field 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.