Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom and São Tomé International Airport (TMS), São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,531 miles (or 5,683 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 São Tomé 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 São Tomé 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):

• The third extension to Gatwick's runway was completed in 1973, bringing it to 10,165 ft and allowing for non-stop narrow-body operations to the US west coast and commercially viable, long-range wide-body operations.Wardair became the first airline to operate Boeing 747s at Gatwick.KLM augmented its Heathrow–Amsterdam service with a Gatwick–Amsterdam route, making it the first non-UK airline to split operations between Heathrow and Gatwick for commercial reasons rather than to comply with government directives.
• The London and Brighton Railway opened on 21 September 1841, and ran near Gatwick Manor.
• 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 November 1948, the airport's owners warned that it might revert to private use by November 1949.
• Between 1958 and 1959, Sudan Airways and BWIA West Indies Airways were among Gatwick's first scheduled overseas airlines.
• 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.
• On 27 May 1958, the original Gatwick railway station reopened as the Gatwick Airport station, and the Tinsley Green station was closed.
• 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 São Tomé International Airport (TMS):

• São Tomé International Airport (TMS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to São Tomé International Airport (TMS) is Libreville Leon M'ba International Airport (LBV), which is located 187 miles (300 kilometers) E of TMS.
• Because of São Tomé International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at São Tomé 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.
• In addition to being known as "São Tomé International Airport", another name for TMS is "Aeroporto Internacional de São Tomé".
• The furthest airport from São Tomé International Airport (TMS) is Canton Island Airport (CIS), which is nearly antipodal to São Tomé International Airport (meaning São Tomé International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Canton Island Airport), and is located 12,239 miles (19,696 kilometers) away in Canton Island, Kiribati.