ARTICLES
Aviation Articles | Great Circle Routes, Flight Distance and Airport Data
These guides put the calculator's numbers in an aviation and mapping context, explaining the relationship between great-circle geometry, actual flight distance and airport data.
GREAT CIRCLE
What is a Great Circle route?
On a globe, the shortest surface path between two airports is an arc of a great circle. FlightRouteMap uses that geometric reference for each segment, then compares the sum of the segments with the direct origin-to-destination distance.
Read the guide →FLIGHT DISTANCE
Why is flight distance different from a straight line on a map?
FlightRouteMap calculates Great Circle Distance between airport coordinates. It is useful for comparing route structure and stopover overhead, but it is not a dispatch, navigation or operational planning tool.
Read the guide →HOW IT WORKS
How FlightRouteMap Works
FlightRouteMap combines an ordered list of airports, their coordinates and spherical distance calculations into a route tool that can be checked independently. The map explains the geometry; the text and tables carry the distance results.
Read the guide →ETOPS
What is ETOPS? Diversion time and extended operations explained
ETOPS is often reduced to how far a twin-engine aircraft can fly, but the operational framework connects aircraft capability, maintenance, dispatch, procedures and suitable diversion airports along a route.
Read the guide →AIRPORT CODES
IATA vs ICAO airport codes: what is the difference?
Travellers usually see IATA codes such as LHR, JFK and PEK. Operational material often uses ICAO location indicators such as EGLL, KJFK and ZBAA. The systems have different owners, coverage and purposes.
Read the guide →POLAR ROUTES
Why do long-haul flights go near the North Pole?
A route arching north on a world map is not necessarily a detour. For many intercontinental city pairs, a high-latitude Great Circle is the shorter spherical path, although flights entering formal polar areas face additional operating requirements.
Read the guide →