Nonstop flight route between Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Allen Army Airfield (BIG), Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,302 miles (or 8,532 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 Allen 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 Allen 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 Allen Army Airfield (BIG):

• Allen Army Airfield (BIG) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Allen Army Airfield (BIG) is Delta Junction Airport (DJN), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) N of BIG.
• Two runways are lighted and can accommodate heavy cargo aircraft year-round, including the C-141.
• In addition to being known as "Allen Army Airfield", another name for BIG is "(former Big Delta Army Airfield)".
• The furthest airport from Allen Army Airfield (BIG) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,331 miles (16,625 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):

• A new highway between Lhasa and the Gonggar Airport has been built by the Transportation Department of Tibet at a cost of RMB 1.5 billion yuan.
• 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.
• At an elevation of 3,500 metres above sea level, the airport is one of the highest in the world.
• Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.
• A night landing facility was created by fixing navigational lighting facilities on the runway at a cost of 99 million yuan only in 2007.
• 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.
• Given the frequency of strong air currents picking up in the afternoon, most flights into the airport are scheduled in the morning.
• 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.
• 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".