Nonstop flight route between Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Luton Airport (LTN), Luton (near London), England, United Kingdom and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,044 miles (or 8,117 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 London Luton Airport and Beijing Capital International 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 London Luton Airport and Beijing Capital International 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 London Luton Airport (LTN):

• In 1990, the airport was renamed London Luton Airport to re-emphasise the airport's proximity to the UK capital.
• The furthest airport from London Luton Airport (LTN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,851 miles (19,072 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The main feature of the development phase in 1998 was a £40 million terminal made from aluminium and glass, based on an original design by Foster and Partners.
• The closest airport to London Luton Airport (LTN) is Hatfield Aerodrome (HTF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of LTN.
• London Luton Airport handled 9,697,944 passengers last year.
• Luton Airport Parkway was built in 1999 to serve the airport.
• London Luton Airport (LTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Following the war, the land was returned to the local council which continued activity at the airport as a commercial operation.
• Because of London Luton Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at London Luton 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.
• In 2004 the airport management announced that they supported the government plans to expand the facilities to include a full-length runway and a new terminal.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• The roof of T3 has dozens of triangular windows to let in daylight.
• The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
• In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The airport has three terminals.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• On 20 July 2013, a man in a wheelchair detonated small homemade explosives which exploded on Terminal 3 in the Beijing International Airport.
• Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital International 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.
• Beijing Capital has rapidly ascended in rankings of the world's busiest airports in the past decade.
• With the opening of Terminal 3, the terminal was closed for light refurbishment, and its airlines were moved to Terminal 2 on 20 May 2008.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.