Nonstop flight route between Heihe, Heilongjiang, China and Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heihe Airport (HEK), Heihe, Heilongjiang, China and Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,632 miles (or 4,237 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 Heihe Airport and Saipan International 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 Heihe Airport and Saipan International 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 Heihe Airport (HEK):

• In addition to being known as "Heihe Airport", other names for HEK include "黑河机场" and "Hēihé Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Heihe Airport (HEK) is Ignatyevo Airport (BQS), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NNE of HEK.
• Heihe Airport (HEK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Heihe Airport (HEK) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is nearly antipodal to Heihe Airport (meaning Heihe Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Port Stanley Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,621 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.

Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):

• The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
• After several months of disappointing high level bombing attacks from Isely, General Curtis LeMay, Commander of Twentieth Air Force issued a new directive that the high-altitude, daylight attacks be phased out and replaced by low-altitude, high-intensity incendiary raids at nighttime, being followed up with high explosive bombs once the targets were set ablaze.
• In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
• A Star Marianas plane crashed during takeoff on November 17, 2012 on its return from Tinian.
• The airfield was liberated by the United States Army 27th Infantry Division on June 18, 1944 during the Battle of Saipan.
• Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan International 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.
• Once in American hands, Isely Field was expanded considerably to support Twentieth Air Force B-29 Superfortress operations.
• Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.