Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, United States and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,329 miles (or 13,405 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 West Houston Airport and Lhasa Gonggar 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 West Houston Airport and Lhasa Gonggar 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 West Houston Airport (IWS):

• Because of West Houston Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at West Houston 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.
• West Houston Airport (IWS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Landing at the airport is free, except for helicopters, where the fee is waived if the customer buys gasoline.
• West Houston Airport offers a variety of services, including a VIP lounge with free Wi-Fi, hangars, and airplane covers.
• The furthest airport from West Houston Airport (IWS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,979 miles (17,668 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to West Houston Airport (IWS) is Andrau Airpark (AAP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of IWS.

Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):

• The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
• The furthest airport from Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,377 miles (18,309 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.
• The airport is connected to the rest of China, which includes cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Xian, Xining, Kunming, Diqing and Chamdo Region.
• Given the frequency of strong air currents picking up in the afternoon, most flights into the airport are scheduled in the morning.
• In addition to being known as "Lhasa Gonggar Airport", other names for LXA include "拉萨贡嘎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Lāsà Gònggá Jīchǎnglha sa gong kar dzong".
• A new highway between Lhasa and the Gonggar Airport has been built by the Transportation Department of Tibet at a cost of RMB 1.5 billion yuan.
• Building an airport in Tibet, which is termed in flying parlance as going over a "hump" in the Tibetan Plateau, has gone through a process of trial and error through many hazardous air routes and several fatal accidents during World War II.
• Because of Lhasa Gonggar Airport's high elevation of 11,713 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LXA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LXA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Gonggar Airport is in Gyazuling township of the Gonggar County.
• Pilots landing at Lhasa Gonggar Airport must be specially trained in handling manoeuvres at landing at the high altitude of 3,700 metres.