Nonstop flight route between Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawkins Field (HKS), Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,065 miles (or 12,980 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 Hawkins Field 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 Hawkins Field 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 Hawkins Field (HKS):

• In addition to being known as "Hawkins Field", another name for HKS is "(former Jackson Army Air Base)".
• Because of Hawkins Field's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawkins Field 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.
• The furthest airport from Hawkins Field (HKS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,975 miles (17,662 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The Netherlands pilots operated from the facility as a separate entity until January 1942 when the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center took over the base and the Dutch pilots began training under the auspices of 74th Flying Training Wing at Maxwell Field, Alabama.
• In June 1941 Hawkins Field was designated as Jackson Army Air Base.
• The closest airport to Hawkins Field (HKS) is Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) E of HKS.
• Hawkins Field (HKS) has 2 runways.
• In May 1941 the Dutch government-in-exile, following the occupation of the Netherlands, established the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School at Hawkins Field.
• What is known today as the 172d Airlift Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard began in 1953 as the Tactical Air Command's 183d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, an Air National Guard unit at Hawkins Field equipped with RB-26 Invaders for night photo reconnaissance missions.
• Jackson Army Air Base was the name of an abandoned military base in the movie Capricorn One, where they staged a fake Mars landing.

Facts about Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):

• At an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level, Qamdo Airport was formerly the highest airport in the world.
• 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 (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Qamdo Bamda Airport", other names for BPX include "昌都邦达机场" and "Chāngdū Bāngdá Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.