Nonstop flight route between Bilbao, Spain and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,552 miles (or 8,936 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 Bilbao Airport and Beijing Capital 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 Bilbao Airport and Beijing Capital 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 Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• In February 2009 plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers.
• Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements.
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of 336,000 m2.
• Another expansion, Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics.
• The T3 food-service area is called a "global kitchen," where 72 stores provide food ranging from formal dishes to fast food, from Chinese to western, from bakery goods to ice cream.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Beijing Capital International Airport is the main international airport serving Beijing.
• In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• Beijing Capital International Airport is the main hub for Air China, the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China, which flies to around 120 destinations from Beijing.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• Terminal 3 was designed by a consortium of NACO, UK Architect Foster and Partners and ARUP.
• The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
• Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital 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.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• Terminal 3 has a 300,000 m2 transportation centre with 7,000 car-parking space.