Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Mercury, Nevada, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Desert Rock Airport (DRA), Mercury, Nevada, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,238 miles (or 8,430 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 Desert Rock 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 Gatwick Airport and Desert Rock 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• Queen Elizabeth II flew into Gatwick on 9 June 1958 in a de Havilland Heron of the Queen's Flight for the opening.
• On 1 May 1963, non-scheduled operators began implementing the Ministry of Aviation's instruction to transfer all regular charter flights from Heathrow to Gatwick, restricting the former's use for non-scheduled operations to "occasional" charter flights.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of 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.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• By the late 1970s, government initiatives supporting Gatwick's development resulted in steady growth in passenger traffic.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• In May 1950, Gatwick's first charter flight left the airport's original grass runway for Calvi on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
• On 6 July 1935, the aerodrome closed temporarily for renovations, which included the construction of the "Beehive", the world's first circular terminal building.
• On 1 April 1961, BEA began operating half its London–Paris flights from Gatwick.
• 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 Desert Rock Airport (DRA):

• The furthest airport from Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,271 miles (18,139 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Desert Rock Airport (DRA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Desert Rock Airport", another name for DRA is "NV65".
• The closest airport to Desert Rock Airport (DRA) is Creech Air Force Base Indian Springs Auxiliary Army Airfield (1961) Indian Springs Air Force Base (1951) Indian Springs Army Airfield Indian Springs Airport eponyms: Indian Springs, Nevada &Wilbur L. Creech[1] (INS), which is located only 20 miles (32 kilometers) E of DRA.