Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Baghdad, Iraq:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Baghdad International Airport (SDA), Baghdad, Iraq would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,536 miles (or 4,081 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 Baghdad 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 Baghdad 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):

• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal on 17 May 1936, bound for Paris.
• British Caledonian began the first transatlantic scheduled service by a private UK airline to New York and Los Angeles from Gatwick in April 1973.
• 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.
• Despite the rapid expansion of BUA's scheduled activities at Gatwick, the airport was dominated by non-scheduled services into the 1980s.
• Queen Elizabeth II flew into Gatwick on 9 June 1958 in a de Havilland Heron of the Queen's Flight for the opening.

Facts about Baghdad International Airport (SDA):

• On 18 May 2010, plans were unveiled for an expansion of Baghdad International Airport, which will double its capacity to 15 million passengers per year.
• The furthest airport from Baghdad International Airport (SDA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,732 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• In April 2003, US-led forces invaded Iraq and changed the airport's name to Baghdad International Airport.
• Because of Baghdad International Airport's relatively low elevation of 114 feet, planes can take off or land at Baghdad 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.
• The present airport was developed under a consortium led by French company, Spie Batignolles, under an agreement made in 1979.
• The closest airport to Baghdad International Airport (SDA) is Baghdad International Airport (BGW), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of SDA.
• Baghdad International Airport (SDA) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Baghdad International Airport", other names for SDA include "مطار بغداد الدولي", "Matar Baġdād ad-Dowaly" and "BGW".