Nonstop flight route between San Luis Obispo, California, United States and Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), San Luis Obispo, California, United States and London Southend Airport (SEN), Southend, Essex (near London) United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,470 miles (or 8,803 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport and London Southend 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport and London Southend 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 San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP):

• San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) has 2 runways.
• The airport has a terminal building, restaurant, numerous hangars and airplane related businesses.
• In addition to being known as "San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport", another name for SBP is "McChesney Field".
• The furthest airport from San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Southwest Airways DC-3 flights to San Luis Obispo lasted from 1946 to 1956 when the airline moved its service to Paso Robles due to the short runway at San Luis Obispo not being able to accommodate more modern aircraft.
• The closest airport to San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) is O'Sullivan Army Heliport (CSL), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) NW of SBP.
• Because of San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 212 feet, planes can take off or land at San Luis Obispo County Regional 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.

Facts about London Southend Airport (SEN):

• Freddie Laker's Air Charter Limited operated flights from Southend from 1949.
• East Anglian Flying Services moved to Southend on 5 January 1947, their first scheduled service being a Southend—Rochester feeder service.
• London Southend Airport (SEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• A four-star Holiday Inn hotel located adjacent to the airport entrance opened on 1 October 2012.
• The furthest airport from London Southend Airport (SEN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,885 miles (19,126 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to London Southend Airport (SEN) is Rochester Airport (RCS), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SSW of SEN.
• Southend Airport has an excellent weather record and is used by airlines as a diversion alternative when adverse weather or incidents close other London airports.
• Construction of the current terminal was completed in February 2012, and hosts two cafés, a bar, duty-free shopping, a W H Smith newsagent, ATMs, a Moneycorp bureau de change, taxi hire, car hire from Europcar and Hertz, and an airport lounge.
• National Commuter Airways operated passenger services during the 1980s, to Brussels and Jersey from Southend.
• London Southend Airport handled 969,912 passengers last year.
• Because of London Southend Airport's relatively low elevation of 55 feet, planes can take off or land at London Southend 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.