Nonstop flight route between Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,016 miles (or 8,072 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 Qamdo Bamda Airport and Eielson Air Force Base, 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 Qamdo Bamda Airport and Eielson Air Force Base. 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 Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):

• The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.
• In addition to being known as "Qamdo Bamda Airport", other names for BPX include "昌都邦达机场" and "Chāngdū Bāngdá Jīchǎng".
• Visitors are warned before landing to move slowly on leaving the plane and that they may feel light headed or dizzy because of the thin air.
• Because of Qamdo Bamda Airport's high elevation of 14,436 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BPX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BPX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is located 11,747 miles (18,904 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• At an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level, Qamdo Airport was formerly the highest airport in the world.
• Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• A new chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson's host unit.
• Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 26 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska.
• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".