Nonstop flight route between Rifle, Colorado, United States and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), Rifle, Colorado, United States and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,786 miles (or 7,703 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 Garfield County Regional Airport and London Stansted 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 Garfield County Regional Airport and London Stansted 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 Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL):

• The furthest airport from Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,972 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of RIL.
• Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Garfield County Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,548 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted 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.
• Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and Chicago, however the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark, but this service was stopped shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
• The station was first allocated to the USAAF Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy bomber airfield.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The top international destinations served by Stansted airport are in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• A major expansion programme to the existing terminal took place between 2007 and 2009, adding nearly 5,900 m2 of floorspace to give space for additional baggage carousels, a new immigration and passport control hall and a hypostyle arrivals hall with improved facilities.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• In 2008 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, the environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a 'stockade' on a taxiway which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.
• Since 1984 the airport's capacity had been limited to a maximum throughput of 25 million passengers per annum in accordance with recommendations made by the 1984 public inquiry and confirmed by the government of the day.