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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,840 miles (or 7,789 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 Stansted Airport and George Bush Intercontinental 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 Stansted Airport and George Bush Intercontinental 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 Stansted Airport (STN):

• Beginning in 1966, after Stansted was placed under BAA control, the airport was used by holiday charter operators wishing to escape the higher costs associated with operating from Heathrow and Gatwick.
• 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.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation finally took control of Stansted in 1949 and the airport was then used as a base by several UK charter airlines.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1988, over 1.1 million passengers passed through Stansted, the first time annual passenger numbers had exceeded 1 million at the airport.
• The Terminal facilities include several bureaux de change facilities, luggage services, internet access, toilets, showers, a chapel and multifaith prayer room for worship.
• The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• 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.
• Stansted is a major freight airport, the third busiest in the UK during 2013, behind London Heathrow and East Midlands Airport, handling in excess of 210,000 tonnes per annum, although freight throughput has declined slightly from its 2005 peak level.
• 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.

Facts about George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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.
• As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from the original design of the airport.
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• Houston Intercontinental had been scheduled to open in 1967, but design changes regarding the terminals created cost overruns and construction delays.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• The site for Bush Intercontinental Airport was originally purchased by a group of Houston businessmen in 1957 to preserve the site until the city of Houston could formulate a plan for a second airport, supplanting what was then known as Houston Municipal Airport.
• The IAB, equipped with a Federal Inspection Facility and US Customs services, consolidated all international arrivals into one terminal.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport served 40,187,442 passengers in 2011 making the airport the 10th busiest for total passengers in North America.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".