Nonstop flight route between Madison, South Dakota, United States and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), Madison, South Dakota, United States and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,191 miles (or 6,744 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 Madison Municipal 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 Madison Municipal 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 Madison Municipal Airport (XMD):

• Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Madison Municipal Airport", another name for XMD is "MDS".
• The furthest airport from Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,587 miles (17,039 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NNE of XMD.

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s the Fire Service Training School was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority.
• 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.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Stansted's Air traffic control tower was completed in 1996 is amongst the tallest in Britain and was the tallest at the time of its construction.
• 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.
• The airport is owned and operated by the Manchester Airports Group, which also owns and operates three other UK airports.
• The terminal building was designed by Foster Associates with input from the structural engineer Peter Rice and features a "floating" roof, supported by a space frame of inverted-pyramid roof trusses, creating the impression of a stylised swan in flight.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• 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.