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

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LGW to SMF:
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- About this route
- LGW Airport Information
- SMF Airport Information
- Facts about LGW
- Facts about SMF
- Map of Nearest Airports to LGW
- List of Nearest Airports to LGW
- Map of Furthest Airports from LGW
- List of Furthest Airports from LGW
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMF
- List of Nearest Airports to SMF
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMF
- List of Furthest Airports from SMF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,292 miles (or 8,517 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 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 Sacramento International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LGW / EGKK |
Airport Name: | Gatwick Airport |
Location: | London, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°8'53"N by 0°11'25"W |
Area Served: | London, United Kingdom |
Operator/Owner: | Global Infrastructure Partners |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 203 feet (62 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LGW |
More Information: | LGW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMF / KSMF |
Airport Name: | Sacramento International Airport |
Location: | Sacramento, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°41'44"N by 121°35'26"W |
Area Served: | Sacramento, California |
Operator/Owner: | County of Sacramento |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 27 feet (8 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMF |
More Information: | SMF Maps & Info |
Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):
- Caledonian Airways purchased British United Airways in November 1970, and the combined airline was initially known as Caledonian/BUA.
- A second 875-foot extension of Gatwick's runway was completed in 1970, bringing it to 9,075 ft and permitting non-stop jet flights to the US east coast with a full payload and full range and payload operations by British United Airways and Caledonian Airways BAC One-Eleven 500s.BEA Airtours made Gatwick their base.
- On 27 May 1958, the original Gatwick railway station reopened as the Gatwick Airport station, and the Tinsley Green station was closed.
- 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.
- 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 1935, a new airline, Allied British Airways, was formed with the merger of Hillman's Airways, United Airways and Spartan Airways.
- 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 (LGW) has 2 runways.
Facts about Sacramento International Airport (SMF):
- Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and Trans World Airlines were added to the list of carriers at Sacramento.
- The closest airport to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of SMF.
- Sacramento International Airport handled 8,910,570 passengers last year.
- In the 1990s the consolidated rental car facility and Terminal A opened, which was designed by Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects.
- On July 6, 2013 the airport was one of ten airports that hosted flights diverted from San Francisco International Airport after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed short of the runway.
- Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has 2 runways.
- Because of Sacramento International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Sacramento 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 furthest airport from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,280 miles (18,154 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- Air Canada flew to this airport in 2007–2008 to Vancouver, but ended the route in 2008.