Nº 015 The map is lying

Why London to LA Flights Go Over Greenland

On a flat map, flying from London to Los Angeles over Greenland looks like a huge detour. It's actually the shortest route: 8,760 km, against 9,733 km for the straight line on a Mercator map. The shortest path across a sphere curves toward the pole when it's flattened.

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Sources

• Distances computed by us on the sphere (LHR to LAX): great circle 8,760 km, peaking at 62.3°N over southern Greenland; Mercator straight line (rhumb line) 9,733 km.