Nonstop flight route between Kigali, Rwanda and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kigali International Airport (KGL), Kigali, Rwanda and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,552 miles (or 7,325 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 Kigali International 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 Kigali International 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 Kigali International Airport (KGL):

• The furthest airport from Kigali International Airport (KGL) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,920 miles (19,183 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• In addition, Akagera Aviation and the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority have their offices at the airport.
• In 2004, the airport served 135,189 passengers.
• There are plans to replace the current airport with a new one located south of Kigali on the south side of the Nyabarongo River in Bugesera.
• Kigali International Airport (KGL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kigali International Airport's high elevation of 4,891 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at KGL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make KGL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Rwandair has its head office on the top floor of the airport's main building.
• The closest airport to Kigali International Airport (KGL) is Kirundo Airport (KRE), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) S of KGL.

Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):

• Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.
• Pilots landing at Lhasa Gonggar Airport must be specially trained in handling manoeuvres at landing at the high altitude of 3,700 metres.
• 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".
• The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• At an elevation of 3,500 metres above sea level, the airport is one of the highest in the world.