Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Qingdao, Shandong, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO), Qingdao, Shandong, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,269 miles (or 11,698 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Qingdao Liuting International 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 Hickory Regional Airport and Qingdao Liuting International 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 Hickory Regional Airport (HKY):

• The Hickory Municipal Airport was first opened to aircraft traffic on May 17, 1940.
• The furthest airport from Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,494 miles (18,499 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Riverhawk Aviation, which was the airport's only FBO, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• While not currently served by any commercial airline, the Hickory Regional Airport has had such service for much of its history.
• After the airline deregulation of the late 1970s, the nature of commercial service would change for Hickory.
• Local officials hope to attract future commercial airline service, despite challenges caused by the relatively close proximity of the large Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
• In 2003, a new building was constructed to serve the general aviation community.

Facts about Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO):

• In addition to being known as "Qingdao Liuting International Airport", other names for TAO include "青岛流亭国际机场" and "Qīngdǎo Liútíng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO) is Weifang Airport (WEF), which is located 75 miles (120 kilometers) WNW of TAO.
• Qingdao Liuting International Airport handled 12,601,152 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO) is Las Flores Airport (ELB), which is nearly antipodal to Qingdao Liuting International Airport (meaning Qingdao Liuting International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Las Flores Airport), and is located 12,405 miles (19,963 kilometers) away in El Banco, Colombia.
• In 2012, Qingdao Liuting was the 17th busiest airport in China with 12,601,152 passengers.
• In December 2013, the Chinese government approved the construction of Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport which will replace Liuting as Qingdao's main airport.
• Because of Qingdao Liuting International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Qingdao Liuting 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.
• Qingdao Liuting International Airport (TAO) currently has only 1 runway.