Nonstop flight route between Comiso, Italy and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Comiso Airport (CIY), Comiso, Italy and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,329 miles (or 6,967 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 Comiso Airport 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 Comiso Airport 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 Comiso Airport (CIY):

• Today the NATO air base, located on the southeast side of the runway, is totally abandoned and empty.
• The furthest airport from Comiso Airport (CIY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airfield and facilities at Magliocco fell into disuse during the postwar years.
• In addition to being known as "Comiso Airport", another name for CIY is "Aeroporto di Comiso".
• During the summer of 1983, three large anti-nuclear demonstrations, largely funded by the Communist Party, were conducted around the base perimeter, with as many as 5,000 protesters at the events in late July, August and September.
• The installation began as an aerodrome that was constructed in southeastern Sicily, at the foot of the Hyblaean Mountains and near the city of Comiso.
• Comiso Airport (CIY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Comiso Airport's relatively low elevation of 620 feet, planes can take off or land at Comiso 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.
• From 1983 to 1991 Comiso Air Base was the largest NATO base in southern Europe and housed 112 BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missiles,.
• The closest airport to Comiso Airport (CIY) is Naval Air Station Sigonella (NSY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNE of CIY.

Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
• Pilots landing at Lhasa Gonggar Airport must be specially trained in handling manoeuvres at landing at the high altitude of 3,700 metres.
• 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.
• 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".
• In 1965 the Gonggar Airport was constructed.
• A night landing facility was created by fixing navigational lighting facilities on the runway at a cost of 99 million yuan only in 2007.
• 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.
• Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.