Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Harare, Zimbabwe:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom and Harare International Airport (HRE), Harare, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,160 miles (or 8,305 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 London Heathrow Airport and Harare 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 London Heathrow Airport and Harare 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 London Heathrow Airport (LHR):

• Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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.
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
• Full body scanners are now used at the airport, and passengers who object to their use after being selected are not allowed to fly.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• Heathrow lies 12 nautical miles west of Central London, and has two parallel east–west runways along with five terminals on a site that covers 12.14 square kilometres.
• Of Heathrow's 69 million passengers in 2011, 7% were bound for UK destinations, 41% were short-haul international travellers and 52% were long-haul.
• Until it was required to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports, Heathrow Airport Holdings held a dominant position in the London aviation market, and has been heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority as to how much it can charge airline to land.
• With only two runways, operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the increasing use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 will allow some increase in passenger numbers.
• The furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Harare International Airport (HRE):

• Civil aviation regulatory authority, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe has its head office on level 3 of the new International Terminal.
• Harare International Airport (HRE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Harare International Airport (HRE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Harare International Airport (meaning Harare International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,017 miles (19,339 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.
• Air Rhodesia established its headquarters at the airport in 1967, and since Independence in 1980, Air Rhodesia's successor, Air Zimbabwe, has maintained the status-quo with its head office, too, located at the airport.
• In 1951 the government announced that the airport would be developed as a joint user aerodrome for both civil aviation and the Southern Rhodesian Air Force.
• In 1949 the government purchased Kentucky and Adair farms east of Salisbury for the construction of the new airport.
• Harare International Airport handled 612,208 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Harare International Airport (HRE) is Mutare Airport (UTA), which is located 125 miles (201 kilometers) SE of HRE.
• Later the same year, an Airfield Construction Unit was formed to undertake an extensive search for a suitable site for a national airport.
• Because of Harare International Airport's high elevation of 4,887 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HRE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HRE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.