Nonstop flight route between Galveston, Texas, United States and Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS), Galveston, Texas, United States and Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,229 miles (or 13,244 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston and Qamdo Bamda 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston and Qamdo Bamda 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS):

• The most frequent traffic is that of the helicopters that support the offshore oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Field was primarily used for replacement crew gunnery training by the 407th Fighter-Bomber Group, with targets being towed to the gunnery range at nearby Oyster Bay.
• The closest airport to Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NW of GLS.
• Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) has 2 runways.
• In January 1943, Galveston AAFld.
• Of the 220+ aircraft based at GLS, 50+ are helicopters belonging to Bristow, Era, PHI and other oil industry vendors.
• In addition to being known as "Scholes International Airport at Galveston", another name for GLS is "(former Galveston Army Air Field)".
• The furthest airport from Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,038 miles (17,764 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Because of Scholes International Airport at Galveston's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Scholes International Airport at Galveston 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.
• Scholes International Airport is the former Galveston Municipal Airport that dates back to 1931.

Facts about Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):

• 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.
• Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.
• 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.
• Qamdo Bamda Airport, also known as Changdu Bangda Airport, is an airport serving Qamdo, Tibet, China.
• 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.