Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX), Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,536 miles (or 5,690 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove, 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 NAS JRB Willow Grove. 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.
• In 1935, a new airline, Allied British Airways, was formed with the merger of Hillman's Airways, United Airways and Spartan Airways.
• 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 9 April 1965, a BUA One-Eleven operated the type's first commercial service from Gatwick to Genoa.
• In July 1952, the British government confirmed that the airport would be renovated, primarily for aircraft diverted from Heathrow in bad weather.
• 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.
• In 1983, as passenger numbers grew, a round satellite pier was added to the terminal building connected to the main terminal by the UK's first automated people mover system.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.

Facts about NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX):

• NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airfield shut down on March 31, 2011.
• After the start of World War II, the United States purchased the property, under threat of eminent domain.
• The furthest airport from NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,726 miles (18,871 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to NAS JRB Willow Grove (NXX) is Wings Field (BBX), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of NXX.
• Because of NAS JRB Willow Grove's relatively low elevation of 335 feet, planes can take off or land at NAS JRB Willow Grove 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.
• Currently, the 111th Fighter Wing, operating the A-10 Thunderbolt II, has lost all its aircraft to other ANG Squadrons under BRAC.