Nonstop flight route between Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LXA to SMS:
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- About this route
- LXA Airport Information
- SMS Airport Information
- Facts about LXA
- Facts about SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to LXA
- List of Nearest Airports to LXA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LXA
- List of Furthest Airports from LXA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,217 miles (or 6,786 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 Lhasa Gonggar Airport and Sainte Marie 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 Lhasa Gonggar Airport and Sainte Marie Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LXA / ZULS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°17'52"N by 90°54'42"E |
Area Served: | Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 11713 feet (3,570 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LXA |
More Information: | LXA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):
- 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.
- 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".
- 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.
- Lhasa Gonggar Airport is the airport serving Lhasa, the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
- The airport has parking facilities for five Airbus A340 or seven Boeing 757 aircraft.
- The main airlines flying to and from Lhasa Gonggar Airport are the following.
- 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.
- Gonggar Airport is in Gyazuling township of the Gonggar County.
- Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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.
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
- The furthest airport from Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.