Nonstop flight route between Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Luton Airport (LTN), Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Basankusu Airport (BSU), Basankusu, Democratic Republic of the Congo would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,689 miles (or 5,938 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 Luton Airport and Basankusu 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 Luton Airport and Basankusu 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 Luton Airport (LTN):

• London Luton Airport (LTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to London Luton Airport (LTN) is Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of LTN.
• The original runways had been grass tracks 18/36 and 06/24, and then a concrete runway 08/26.
• Because of London Luton Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at London Luton 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.
• An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by the Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood.
• The airport was also mentioned in a famous Campari advert featuring Lorraine Chase, with the punch line "Were you truly wafted here from paradise?".
• In the 1980s the airport was seeing a decline in customer numbers.
• London Luton Airport handled 9,697,944 passengers last year.
• In 2013, just under 9.7 million passengers passed through the airport, making Luton the sixth busiest airport in the UK.
• The airport remains in municipal ownership, owned by Luton Borough Council but managed by the private sector London Luton Airport Operations Limited.
• The furthest airport from London Luton Airport (LTN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,851 miles (19,072 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Basankusu Airport (BSU):

• The furthest airport from Basankusu Airport (BSU) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Basankusu Airport (meaning Basankusu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,140 miles (19,537 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Basankusu Airport (BSU) is Impfondo Airport (ION), which is located 123 miles (198 kilometers) WNW of BSU.