Nonstop flight route between Birmingham, Alabama, United States and Sandakan, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), Birmingham, Alabama, United States and Sandakan Airport (SDK), Sandakan, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,263 miles (or 14,908 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Sandakan 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport and Sandakan 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 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM):

• The closest airport to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is St. Clair County Airport (PLR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) E of BHM.
• The airport opened on May 31, 1931 with a two-story, white, Georgian style terminal and a single east-west runway.
• Because of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport's relatively low elevation of 650 feet, planes can take off or land at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth 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.
• Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) has 2 runways.
• BHM currently has one new terminal building with two new concourses, which opened on March 13, 2013.
• The interior of the terminal was renovated in the early 1990s and completed in 1993 at a cost of $50.4 million which included new floor surfaces, lighting, wall coverings, renovated public spaces, and public art.
• The furthest airport from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,183 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Terminal A referred to the former 1962 terminal, which was still in use as office space until it was closed in 2011.
• In the early 1990s Runway 18/36 was extended to 7,100 feet, allowing use by airline jets.
• During the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, pilots and crews from the Alabama Air National Guard's 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Birmingham were selected to train Cuban exile fliers in Nicaragua to fly the Douglas B-26 Invader in the close air support role.

Facts about Sandakan Airport (SDK):

• In addition to being known as "Sandakan Airport", other names for SDK include "Lapangan Terbang Sandakan" and "山打根机场".
• The closest airport to Sandakan Airport (SDK) is Lahad Datu Airport (LDU), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) SSE of SDK.
• Because of Sandakan Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Sandakan 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.
• Sandakan Airport handled 911,855 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Sandakan Airport (SDK) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sandakan Airport (meaning Sandakan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,290 miles (19,779 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Sandakan Airport (SDK) currently has only 1 runway.