Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and San Antonio, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF), San Antonio, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,002 miles (or 8,051 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio, 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 Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio. 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):

• The first scheduled flight departed from the Beehive terminal on 17 May 1936, bound for Paris.
• 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.
• The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.
• 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.
• BEA Helicopters made Gatwick their administrative and engineering base on 1 January 1964.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• Queen Elizabeth II flew into Gatwick on 9 June 1958 in a de Havilland Heron of the Queen's Flight for the opening.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• Pope John Paul II arrived at the airport on 28 May 1982 on an Alitalia Boeing 727-200 Advanced, beginning the first papal visit to the United Kingdom.

Facts about Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF):

• The furthest airport from Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,124 miles (17,902 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Lackland Air Force Base is home to the 37th Training Wing which operates a variety of training squadrons.
• During the 1960s, more permanent facilities were constructed, including four 1,000-person steel and brick Recruit Housing and Training dormitories built between 1966 and 1970 for basic military training by the Lackland Military Training Center.
• From the Cold War demise, base realignment and closure actions in the 1990s relocated several specialized training programs at Lackland.
• Lackland, like many other Air Education and Training Command bases, trains enlisted airmen out of basic training in a specific specialty via various "tech schools." Lackland currently has six technical training squadrons on base training multiple airmen in various Air Force Specialty Codes.
• The closest airport to Lackland Air Force Base Joint Base San Antonio (SKF) is Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of SKF.
• In October 2008 the BMT was expanded an extra two weeks to implement more air base defense training as well as other rudimentary skills.
• Lackland AFB hosts a collection of vintage military aircraft on static display on its parade grounds, including a B-52 Stratofortress, F-4 Phantom II, SR-71 Blackbird, C-121 Constellation, B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-25 Mitchell.
• On 3 Feb 1948, the facility was named Lackland AFB after Brigadier General Frank Lackland, who was commissioned into the regular Army after serving in the National Guard, District of Columbia.
• By late 1959 Lackland was also performing air-traffic-control duties for the Federal Aviation Administration.
• As a result of the Korean War, training populations at Lackland soared to 28 basic military training squadrons within the 3700th Military Training Wing.