Nonstop flight route between Canton Island, Kiribati and Chengdu, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), Chengdu, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,980 miles (or 9,624 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 Canton Island Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu 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 Canton Island Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu 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 Canton Island Airport (CIS):

• Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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.
• Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
• The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
• Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
• The Pan American pioneered central air route, Hawaii to the Philippines and Asia by way of stations at Midway, Wake and Guam passed through the Japanese controlled islands with serious concerns about its safety growing in 1941 even as the Army had reinforced the Philippines with a flight of B-17 bombers by way of Midway, Wake and Port Moresby in September.
• The airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.

Facts about Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU):

• The closest airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) NE of CTU.
• When China Southwest Airlines existed, its headquarters were on the airport property.
• The furthest airport from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (meaning Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• A large-scale expansion was conducted on flight area and navigation area from 1994 to 2001.
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handled 31,500,000 passengers last year.
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) has 2 runways.
• The construction of its second runway started from late 2008 and has started service in December 2009.
• Terminal 2 under construction
• In addition to being known as "Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport", other names for CTU include "成都双流国际机场" and "Chéngdū Shuāngliú Guójì Jīchǎng".