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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Jose, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,380 miles (or 8,657 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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 Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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):

• On 1 April 1961, BEA began operating half its London–Paris flights from Gatwick.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• On 6 July 1935, the aerodrome closed temporarily for renovations, which included the construction of the "Beehive", the world's first circular terminal building.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• The name "Gatwick" was first recorded as "Gatwik" in 1241 on the site of today's airport, on the northern edge of the North Terminal's aircraft taxiing area.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC):

• Designed by a team of architects and engineers led by HTB, Inc., Terminal A and its adjoining parking garage were originally designed and built in 1990 for American Airlines.
• In November 2001 the airport was renamed after Norman Yoshio Mineta, a native of San Jose, its former mayor and congressman, former United States Secretary of Commerce and former United States Secretary of Transportation.
• The closest airport to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County (RHV), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ESE of SJC.
• In 2010, service expanded at SJC for the first time in several years.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,363 miles (18,287 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport's relatively low elevation of 62 feet, planes can take off or land at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose 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.
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport handled 8,357,384 passengers last year.
• On February 4, 2013, Virgin America announced it will begin service from San Jose to Los Angeles International Airport on May 1, 2013, with four daily nonstop flights each way.