Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 64 miles (or 104 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 relatively short distance between MDPGA Wethersfield and Gatwick Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• On 6 June 1982 614 VGS moved to MDPGA Wethersfield from RAF Debden, as that base was required for tank training.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• In June 1955 the 20th FBW started receiving the F-84F "Thunderstreak" in addition to its F-84Ds and F-84Gs.
• The 416th Bombardment Group arrived at Wethersfield from Laurel Army Airfield, Mississippi, on 1 February 1944, flying the twin-engine Douglas A-20G "Havoc" aircraft.
• In August 1976 the 66th CSS became Detachment 1, 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at RAF Alconbury.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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 furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closure of US bases in France forced the opening of RAF Greenham Common under 20th TFW management to handle personnel overflow beginning in January 1967.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.

Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• The third extension to Gatwick's runway was completed in 1973, bringing it to 10,165 ft and allowing for non-stop narrow-body operations to the US west coast and commercially viable, long-range wide-body operations.Wardair became the first airline to operate Boeing 747s at Gatwick.KLM augmented its Heathrow–Amsterdam service with a Gatwick–Amsterdam route, making it the first non-UK airline to split operations between Heathrow and Gatwick for commercial reasons rather than to comply with government directives.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• During the late 1920s, land adjacent to the racecourse was used as an aerodrome.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In July 1952, the British government confirmed that the airport would be renovated, primarily for aircraft diverted from Heathrow in bad weather.
• On 1 April 1961, BEA began operating half its London–Paris flights from Gatwick.
• Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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.