Nonstop flight route between Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois, United States and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,814 miles (or 10,966 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 Southern Illinois 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 Southern Illinois 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 Southern Illinois Airport (MDH):

• Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) has 3 runways.
• Southern Illinois Airport makes a substantial contribution to the local economy.
• The airport is owned and operated by Southern Illinois Airport Authority, a local governmental entity created under state law.
• The airport opened in 1950 and was originally known as Murdale Airport.
• The furthest airport from Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,052 miles (17,786 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Southern Illinois Airport's relatively low elevation of 411 feet, planes can take off or land at Southern Illinois 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.
• The closest airport to Southern Illinois Airport (MDH) is Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) E of MDH.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• The T3 food-service area is called a "global kitchen," where 72 stores provide food ranging from formal dishes to fast food, from Chinese to western, from bakery goods to ice cream.
• Beijing Airport was opened on 2 March 1958.
• 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 International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• Another expansion, Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics.
• Terminal 1, with 60,000 m2 of space, opened on 1 January 1980, and replaced the smaller existing terminal which was in operation since 1958.
• 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".
• Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.