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):

• In November 1948, the airport's owners warned that it might revert to private use by November 1949.
• The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal on 17 May 1936, bound for Paris.
• In July 1952, the British government confirmed that the airport would be renovated, primarily for aircraft diverted from Heathrow in bad weather.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• Despite the rapid expansion of BUA's scheduled activities at Gatwick, the airport was dominated by non-scheduled services into the 1980s.
• 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.
• The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• In November 1972, Laker Airways became the first operator of wide-body aircraft at Gatwick after the introduction of two McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10 aircraft.
• 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.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.

Facts about Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED):

• Laurence G. Hanscom Field (BED) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• Hanscom Field covers 1,125 acres at an elevation of 132 feet above mean sea level.
• From 1999 until 2003, Shuttle America, a Connecticut-based regional airline operating for US Airways Express, operated scheduled service from the airfield, carrying more than 10,000 passengers each month to airports in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania using De Havilland Dash 8 and Saab 340 aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Laurence G. Hanscom Field", another name for BED is "Hanscom Air Force Base".
• 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.
• The field serves aircraft from Piper Cubs to Gulfstream V jets.
• In 2006, Neil Entwistle was flown from London to Hanscom by U.S.
• 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.
• As an airport close to Boston, many teams competing in the Boston area use Hanscom Field.