Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,062 miles (or 12,975 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Lhasa Gonggar 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Lhasa Gonggar 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 Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• In 1920 Camp Owen Bierne opened on the site of the current airbase as a base for airship operations but the units were soon disbanded.
• The 97th experienced two mission changes in 1955.
• The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
• With World War II imminent, a massive construction effort was begun at Biggs Army Airfield between 1942–1945.
• Operational with the B-52B by 1960, the 95th Bomb Wing was part of SAC's nuclear deterrent force, and performed airborne alert patrols.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.
• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".

Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):

• Because of Lhasa Gonggar Airport's high elevation of 11,713 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LXA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LXA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
• The airport has parking facilities for five Airbus A340 or seven Boeing 757 aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Lhasa Gonggar Airport", other names for LXA include "拉萨贡嘎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Lāsà Gònggá Jīchǎnglha sa gong kar dzong".
• The airport is connected to the rest of China, which includes cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Xian, Xining, Kunming, Diqing and Chamdo Region.
• Given the frequency of strong air currents picking up in the afternoon, most flights into the airport are scheduled in the morning.
• Building an airport in Tibet, which is termed in flying parlance as going over a "hump" in the Tibetan Plateau, has gone through a process of trial and error through many hazardous air routes and several fatal accidents during World War II.
• The furthest airport from Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,377 miles (18,309 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.