Nonstop flight route between Hotan, Xinjiang, China and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hotan Airport (HTN), Hotan, Xinjiang, China and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,853 miles (or 6,201 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 Hotan Airport and London Stansted 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 Hotan Airport and London Stansted 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 Hotan Airport (HTN):

• Hotan Airport (HTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Hotan Airport", other names for HTN include "和田机场" and "Hétián Jīchǎng".
• Because of Hotan Airport's high elevation of 4,672 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HTN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HTN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Hotan Airport (HTN) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,566 miles (18,613 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Hotan Airport (HTN) is Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL), which is located 239 miles (385 kilometers) SSW of HTN.

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• From 1997 to 2007 Stansted saw rapid expansion of passenger numbers on the back of the boom in low cost air travel, peaking at 24 million passengers in the 12 months to October 2007, but passenger numbers declined for the subsequent five years to 2012.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2008 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, the environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a 'stockade' on a taxiway which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.
• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted 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 several cargo buildings and hangars around the airfield.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s the Fire Service Training School was based on the eastern side of the airfield under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, now the Civil Aviation Authority.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The station was first allocated to the USAAF Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy bomber airfield.
• In 2007 passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for 5 years and in 2012 the total was around 17.5 million.
• The airport is owned and operated by the Manchester Airports Group, which also owns and operates three other UK airports.