Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Masuda, Shimane, Japan, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom and Iwami Airport (IWJ), Masuda, Shimane, Japan, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,819 miles (or 9,365 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 Iwami 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 Iwami 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):

• Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles apart.
• In 2005, a substantial redesign and redevelopment of the terminal saw the opening of the new Eastern Extension, doubling the size of the departure lounge and creating additional seating as well as retail space.
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• Until 2008, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• As the airport is west of London and as its runways run east–west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the conurbation of London when the wind is from the west.

Facts about Iwami Airport (IWJ):

• The closest airport to Iwami Airport (IWJ) is Yamaguchi Ube Airport (UBJ), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SSW of IWJ.
• Iwami Airport (IWJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Iwami Airport", other names for IWJ include "石見空港" and "Iwami Kūkō".
• Because of Iwami Airport's relatively low elevation of 177 feet, planes can take off or land at Iwami 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 Iwami Airport (IWJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Iwami Airport (meaning Iwami Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,147 miles (19,548 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.