Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Birch Creek, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Birch Creek Airport (KBC), Birch Creek, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,125 miles (or 6,638 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 Birch Creek 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 Birch Creek 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):

• Although the airport was officially decommissioned in 1946, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation continued operating it as a civil airfield.
• 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.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• 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 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's new air-traffic control tower opened in 1984, the tallest in the UK at the time.
• The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.
• 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.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• In November 1948, the airport's owners warned that it might revert to private use by November 1949.

Facts about Birch Creek Airport (KBC):

• In addition to being known as "Birch Creek Airport", another name for KBC is "Z91".
• The furthest airport from Birch Creek Airport (KBC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,178 miles (16,381 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Birch Creek Airport (KBC) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Birch Creek Airport's relatively low elevation of 450 feet, planes can take off or land at Birch Creek 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 closest airport to Birch Creek Airport (KBC) is Fort Yukon Airport (FYU), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NE of KBC.