Nonstop flight route between St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Zhongwei, Ningxia, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St Mary's Airport (ISC), St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom and Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (ZHY), Zhongwei, Ningxia, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,095 miles (or 8,200 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 St Mary's Airport and Zhongwei Shapotou 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 St Mary's Airport and Zhongwei Shapotou 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 St Mary's Airport (ISC):

• The furthest airport from St Mary's Airport (ISC) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to St Mary's Airport (meaning St Mary's Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,501 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• On 15 September 1937, Olley Air Service's subsidiary Channel Air Ferries started the first scheduled service between Land's End and St Mary's, flying de Havilland Dragons.
• The current 600m asphalt runway, 15/33, was built in 1991.
• St Mary's Airport (ISC) has 2 runways.
• In February 2014, the Council of the Isles of Scilly approved a plan to share the management of St Mary's Airport with Westward Airways, who operate Land's End Airport.
• The closest airport to St Mary's Airport (ISC) is Tresco Heliport (TSO), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NW of ISC.
• Because of St Mary's Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at St Mary's 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.
• After being in operation for 48 years, the helicopter service between St Mary's and the mainland UK ceased operations in October 2012, leaving Skybus as the sole remaining air link for the Isles of Scilly.
• A public footpath passes within a few metres of the southern end of the runway.
• In addition to being known as "St Mary's Airport", other names for ISC include "Isles of Scilly Airport" and "Scilly Isles/St Mary's Airport".
• St Mary's Airport handled 89,170 passengers last year.

Facts about Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (ZHY):

• In addition to being known as "Zhongwei Shapotou Airport", other names for ZHY include "中卫沙坡头机场" and "Zhōngwèi Shāpōtóu Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (ZHY) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is nearly antipodal to Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (meaning Zhongwei Shapotou Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Carriel Sur International Airport), and is located 12,324 miles (19,834 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Because of Zhongwei Shapotou Airport's high elevation of 8,202 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ZHY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ZHY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (ZHY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Zhongwei Shapotou Airport (ZHY) is Yinchuan Hedong International Airport (INC), which is located 85 miles (137 kilometers) NE of ZHY.