Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Washington, D.C. / Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,685 miles (or 5,931 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 Washington Dulles International 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 Washington Dulles International 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):

• Between 1958 and 1959, Sudan Airways and BWIA West Indies Airways were among Gatwick's first scheduled overseas airlines.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• The third extension to Gatwick's runway was completed in 1973, bringing it to 10,165 ft and allowing for non-stop narrow-body operations to the US west coast and commercially viable, long-range wide-body operations.Wardair became the first airline to operate Boeing 747s at Gatwick.KLM augmented its Heathrow–Amsterdam service with a Gatwick–Amsterdam route, making it the first non-UK airline to split operations between Heathrow and Gatwick for commercial reasons rather than to comply with government directives.
• 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.
• In 1935, a new airline, Allied British Airways, was formed with the merger of Hillman's Airways, United Airways and Spartan Airways.
• On 27 May 1958, the original Gatwick railway station reopened as the Gatwick Airport station, and the Tinsley Green station was closed.
• 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.
• In July 1952, the British government confirmed that the airport would be renovated, primarily for aircraft diverted from Heathrow in bad weather.

Facts about Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD):

• The furthest airport from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,659 miles (18,763 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Washington Dulles International Airport's relatively low elevation of 313 feet, planes can take off or land at Washington Dulles 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.
• By the 1980s, the original design, which had mobile lounges meet each plane, was no longer well-suited to Dulles' role as a hub airport.
• The C and D concourses, completed in 1983 and designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, were originally designed as a temporary base for United Airlines, which began hub operations at the airport in 1985.
• The main terminal was extended in 1996 to 1,240 feet —Saarinen's original design length—which was slightly more than double its originally constructed length of 600 feet.
• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) has 5 runways.
• As of 2012, the only Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority service to Dulles is the "Express" 5A Metrobus route.
• The closest airport to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NNW of IAD.
• In September 2009, a 121,700 square feet central Transportation Security Administration checkpoint was added on a new security mezzanine level of the main terminal.
• United Airlines maintains one of two East Coast hubs at Dulles which handled 56.7% of scheduled air carrier passengers at the airport.JetBlue handled 6.8% of scheduled air carrier passengers.