Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Tshimpi Airport (Matadi Airport) (MAT), Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,017 miles (or 6,465 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 Tshimpi Airport (Matadi 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 Tshimpi Airport (Matadi 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):

• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal on 17 May 1936, bound for Paris.
• 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 (LGW) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• On 6 July 1935, the aerodrome closed temporarily for renovations, which included the construction of the "Beehive", the world's first circular terminal building.
• Queen Elizabeth II flew into Gatwick on 9 June 1958 in a de Havilland Heron of the Queen's Flight for the opening.
• Caledonian Airways purchased British United Airways in November 1970, and the combined airline was initially known as Caledonian/BUA.

Facts about Tshimpi Airport (Matadi Airport) (MAT):

• The furthest airport from Tshimpi Airport (Matadi Airport) (MAT) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,750 miles (18,909 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Tshimpi Airport (Matadi Airport) (MAT) is Boma Airport (BOA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) W of MAT.
• Because of Tshimpi Airport (Matadi Airport)'s relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Tshimpi Airport (Matadi 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.