Nonstop flight route between Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Altay, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Edinburgh, United Kingdom and Altay Airport (AAT), Altay, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,652 miles (or 5,878 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 Edinburgh Airport and Altay 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 Edinburgh Airport and Altay 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 Edinburgh Airport (EDI):

• Although the original main runway 13/31 served the airport well, its alignment had the disadvantage of suffering from severe crosswinds and the other two minor runways were very short and could not be readily extended, so movements were transferred to a new runway in an addition completely outside the original airfield boundary.
• The airport is owned and operated by Global Infrastructure Partners, which also owns and operates Gatwick Airport and London City Airport.
• Because of Edinburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 136 feet, planes can take off or land at Edinburgh 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.
• There are currently no direct rail links to Edinburgh Airport, although it lies very close to the Fife Circle and the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway lines.
• In 1971 the British Airports Authority took over the airport and immediately started to expand it by constructing a new runway and terminal building.
• The only international services from Edinburgh during the 1980s were to Amsterdam and Dublin, but in the following years links were opened to destinations in France and Germany.
• Edinburgh Airport handled 9,775,443 passengers last year.
• When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire.
• The furthest airport from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Passenger traffic at Edinburgh Airport reached a record level in 2013 with nearly 9.8 million passengers and over 111,000 aircraft movements.
• Edinburgh Airport (EDI) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Perth Airport (PSL), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) N of EDI.
• The likelihood of an additional runway has been thrown into doubt following a revised masterplan in January 2011, with passenger numbers expected to be lower than previously thought - 12.3 million by 2020 and 20 million by 2040.

Facts about Altay Airport (AAT):

• In addition to being known as "Altay Airport", other names for AAT include "阿勒泰机场" and "Ālètài Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Altay Airport (AAT) is Cochrane Airfield (LGR), which is located 11,536 miles (18,566 kilometers) away in Cochrane, Chile.
• Altay Airport (AAT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Altay Airport (AAT) is Kanas Airport (KJI), which is located 60 miles (96 kilometers) WNW of AAT.