Nonstop flight route between Chicago, Illinois, United States and London, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MDW to LHR:
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- About this route
- MDW Airport Information
- LHR Airport Information
- Facts about MDW
- Facts about LHR
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDW
- List of Nearest Airports to MDW
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDW
- List of Furthest Airports from MDW
- Map of Nearest Airports to LHR
- List of Nearest Airports to LHR
- Map of Furthest Airports from LHR
- List of Furthest Airports from LHR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois, United States and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,945 miles (or 6,348 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 Chicago Midway International Airport and London Heathrow 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 Chicago Midway International Airport and London Heathrow Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MDW / KMDW |
Airport Name: | Chicago Midway International Airport |
Location: | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°47'9"N by 87°45'8"W |
Area Served: | Chicago, Illinois, US |
Operator/Owner: | City of Chicago |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 620 feet (189 meters) |
# of Runways: | 5 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDW |
More Information: | MDW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LHR / EGLL |
Airport Name: | London Heathrow Airport |
Location: | London, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°28'38"N by 0°27'41"W |
Area Served: | London, United Kingdom |
Operator/Owner: | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 83 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LHR |
More Information: | LHR Maps & Info |
Facts about Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW):
- The closest airport to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) NNW of MDW.
- More construction was funded in part by $1 million from the Works Progress Administration.
- The furthest airport from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,083 miles (17,836 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Chicago Midway ranked highest in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports in J.
- The carrier transporting the most passengers from Chicago Midway Airport is Southwest Airlines.
- In June 2004, Mayor Daley and airline officials celebrated the completion of the Terminal Development Program.
- In July 1949 the airport was renamed after the Battle of Midway.
- Because of Chicago Midway International Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Midway 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.
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) has 5 runways.
- On April 20, 2009, a $2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through when the consortium could not put together financing.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- When runway alternation was introduced, aircraft generated significantly more noise on departure than when landing, so a preference for westerly operations during daylight was introduced, which continues to this day.
- The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
- In the 1950s, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles in the shape of a hexagram with the permanent passenger terminal in the middle and the older terminal along the north edge of the field, and two of its runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction.
- 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.