Nonstop flight route between Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Shanghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Luton Airport (LTN), Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), Shanghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,702 miles (or 9,177 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 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 Luton 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 Luton Airport (LTN):

• It became the operating base for charter airlines such as Autair, Euravia, Dan-Air and Monarch.
• London Luton Airport (LTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• An airport was opened on the site on 16 July 1938 by the Secretary of State for Air, Kingsley Wood.
• 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.
• The closest airport to London Luton Airport (LTN) is Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of LTN.
• London Luton Airport handled 9,697,944 passengers last year.
• While developing the basic infrastructure, various business partners were courted and business models were considered.
• 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.
• The airport was also mentioned in a famous Campari advert featuring Lorraine Chase, with the punch line "Were you truly wafted here from paradise?".

Facts about Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport handled 33,851,200 passengers last year.
• 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".
• 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.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) has 2 runways.
• 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.