Nonstop flight route between Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Tainan City, Taiwan, Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hickory Regional Airport (HKY), Hickory, North Carolina, United States and Tainan Airport (TNN), Tainan City, Taiwan, Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,143 miles (or 13,104 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 Tainan 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 Tainan 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):

• On August 2, 1941, Pennsylvania Central Airlines which later became Capital Airlines, brought the first scheduled air-carrier service to Hickory.
• The closest airport to Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) is Foothills Regional Airport (MRN), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of HKY.
• While not currently served by any commercial airline, the Hickory Regional Airport has had such service for much of its history.
• Hickory Fire Department staffs an ARFF Fire apparatus at the airport 24/7, Engine 4 responds to all aircraft accidents and emergencies at the airport.
• 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.
• Hickory Regional Airport (HKY) has 2 runways.
• Atlantis Airlines was one small airline of this type, offering up to 6 daily direct flights to Charlotte and Atlanta.

Facts about Tainan Airport (TNN):

• A number of US units have been stationed at Tainan Air Base, including the 868th Tactical Missile Squadron from 1958 to 1962, which operated MGM-1 Matadors, probably under the ultimate control of the United States Taiwan Defense Command.
• The furthest airport from Tainan Airport (TNN) is Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport (ESG), which is nearly antipodal to Tainan Airport (meaning Tainan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport), and is located 12,355 miles (19,883 kilometers) away in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay.
• Because of Tainan Airport's relatively low elevation of 63 feet, planes can take off or land at Tainan 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.
• On 24 February 1969, Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104, a Handley Page Dart Herald with 36 passengers and crew board, crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Tainan.
• In addition to being known as "Tainan Airport", other names for TNN include "臺南航空站台南機場" and "Táinán HángkōngzhànTáinán Jīchǎng".
• Tainan Airport (TNN) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Tainan Airport (TNN) is Kaohsiung International Airport (Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport) (KHH), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSE of TNN.
• On 21 March 2003, TransAsia Airways flight 543 on a flight from Taipei Songshan Airport to Tainan Airport, collided with a truck that was on runway 36R.