Nonstop flight route between Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BPX to SMS:
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- About this route
- BPX Airport Information
- SMS Airport Information
- Facts about BPX
- Facts about SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to BPX
- List of Nearest Airports to BPX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BPX
- List of Furthest Airports from BPX
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,551 miles (or 7,324 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 Sainte Marie 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 Qamdo Bamda Airport and Sainte Marie Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BPX / ZUBD |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 30°33'12"N by 97°6'30"E |
Area Served: | Qamdo, Tibet, China |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 14436 feet (4,400 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BPX |
More Information: | BPX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Facts about Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):
- Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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.
- At an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level, Qamdo Airport was formerly the highest airport in the world.
- The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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.
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
- The furthest airport from Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.