Nonstop flight route between Cape Town, South Africa and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cape Town International Airport (CPT), Cape Town, South Africa and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,431 miles (or 10,350 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 Cape Town International 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 Cape Town International 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 Cape Town International Airport (CPT):

• Cape Town International Airport (CPT) has 2 runways.
• Cape Town International Airport handled 8,505,563 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 217 miles (349 kilometers) E of CPT.
• The furthest airport from Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,616 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Cape Town International Airport's relatively low elevation of 151 feet, planes can take off or land at Cape Town 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.
• Cape Town International Airport recorded 7.8 million passengers in 2008–2009, down from 8.4 million passengers the year before.
• Apart from completion of the 2010 expansion project, it has been proposed that a second runway for large aircraft be constructed at Cape Town International Airport.
• There is no direct rail access to Cape Town International Airport.
• Retail outlets are located on the lower level of the terminal at landside, as well as airside at the departure gates.
• Cape Town International Airport was opened in 1954, a year after Jan Smuts Airport on the Witwatersrand opened.

Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):

• The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
• The main airlines flying to and from Lhasa Gonggar Airport are the following.
• In 1965 the Gonggar Airport was constructed.
• 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.
• A night landing facility was created by fixing navigational lighting facilities on the runway at a cost of 99 million yuan only in 2007.
• 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.
• The airport is connected to the rest of China, which includes cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Xian, Xining, Kunming, Diqing and Chamdo Region.
• 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".
• At an elevation of 3,570 metres, Lhasa Airport is one of the highest in the world.
• Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.