Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC), Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,769 miles (or 10,894 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Ürümqi Diwopu 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Ürümqi Diwopu 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• After World War I, the idea of opening an airport to serve the Roanoke Valley became more of a priority for local leaders.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Designed for future expansion to accommodate additional aircraft, there has been talk of a terminal expansion, though official plans have yet to be announced.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• With a history stretching to the time following World War I, Roanoke Regional Airport has evolved from a pair of dirt runways and a single hangar to a fully equipped, modern airport serving multiple commercial airlines.
• When facilities reached their maximum capacity, the need for upgrades became necessary for the airport to continue to grow.
• Roanoke Regional saw 685,000 passengers in 2007, with 71 percent on-time departures and 68 percent on-time arrivals.
• During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
• Federal funding for a new tower fell through in both 1993 and 1997, but in 1999 the FAA announced they were restarting the Roanoke project, paving the way for its construction.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".

Facts about Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC):

• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport covers an area of 4.84 million sq.
• The furthest airport from Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) is Gamboa Airport (WCA), which is located 11,489 miles (18,490 kilometers) away in Castro, Chile.
• The closest airport to Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) is Turpan Jiaohe Airport (TLQ), which is located 102 miles (163 kilometers) SE of URC.
• In addition to being known as "Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport", other names for URC include "ئۈرۈمچى دىئوپا خەلقئارا ئايروپورتى乌鲁木齐地窝堡国际机场" and "Wūlǔmùqí Dìwōpù Guójì Jīcháng".
• In 2002, 1,673,400 passengers and 35,000 tons of goods passed through Ürümqi Airport.
• Summer 2005 saw Diwopu get a boost when the airport started receiving major foreign airlines.
• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport handled 11,078,597 passengers last year.