Nonstop flight route between Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom and Palo Alto, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom and Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), Palo Alto, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,355 miles (or 8,618 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County, 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County. 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):

• In 1984, the government approved a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year.
• The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.
• Stansted Airport has one main passenger terminal, near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet.
• The top international destinations served by Stansted airport are in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
• Stansted also had scheduled and charter flights to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, but these flights to Canada have now ceased.
• 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.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• 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.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO):

• The furthest airport from Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,289 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Fifteen miles of hiking and biking trails, affording multiple opportunities for birdwatching, form part of the adjacent 1,940-acre Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve.
• Because of Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County 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 airport was transferred to the United States Navy as King City NAAS in April 1945, and returned to civil control in December 1945.
• The VOR approach is almost impossible to get from Air Traffic Control if the aircraft is GPS-equipped, because of the conflict with airline traffic in San Jose International Airport.
• Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of PAO.