Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Shanghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), Shanghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,724 miles (or 9,212 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 Shanghai Hongqiao 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 Shanghai Hongqiao 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.
• 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.
• Until 2008, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty.
• Heathrow Airport has Anglican, Catholic, free church, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh chaplains.
• Heathrow Airport started in 1929 as a small airfield on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• Terminal 1 opened in 1968 and was formally inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1969.
• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
• Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines flying to 170 destinations worldwide.
• 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 Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA):

• In preparation for the Shanghai Expo, on 16 March 2010 Hongqiao Airport completed a five-year 15.3-billion-yuan expansion project, which included a 3,300-meter second runway and the new Terminal 2, boosting Hongqiao's capacity to 40 million passengers a year.
• Hongqiao Airport is a hub for China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines.
• In addition to being known as "Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport", other names for SHA include "上海虹桥国际机场" and "Shànghǎi Hóngqiáo Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) E of SHA.
• Because of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Shanghai Hongqiao 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.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport handled 33,851,200 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport (COC), which is nearly antipodal to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (meaning Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,951 kilometers) away in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina.