Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Sacramento, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC), Sacramento, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,288 miles (or 8,511 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 Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield, 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 Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield. 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):

• On 1 April 1961, BEA began operating half its London–Paris flights from Gatwick.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• From 1978 to 2008, many flights to and from the United States used Gatwick because of restrictions on the use of Heathrow implemented in the Bermuda II agreement between the UK and the US.US Airways, Gatwick's last remaining US carrier, ended service from the airport on 30 March 2013.
• 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.
• 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.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC):

• McClellan Airfield has one concrete paved runway measuring 10,600 x 200 ft.
• The furthest airport from Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,276 miles (18,146 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield 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 Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC) is Sacramento Mather Airport (MHR), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SE of MCC.
• Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC) currently has only 1 runway.