Nonstop flight route between Beijing, People's Republic of China and Alicante, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China and Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), Alicante, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,723 miles (or 9,210 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 Beijing Capital International Airport and Alicante-Elche 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 Beijing Capital International Airport and Alicante-Elche 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 Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• The roof of T3 has dozens of triangular windows to let in daylight.
• 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 Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Terminal 3 was designed by a consortium of NACO, UK Architect Foster and Partners and ARUP.
• 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 handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.
• 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".
• Fresh from hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and completion of its new terminal building, Beijing Capital has overtaken Tokyo Haneda to be the busiest airport in Asia based on scheduled seat capacity.
• 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.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.

Facts about Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC):

• The New Terminal is the only terminal currently in service.
• The furthest airport from Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is Gisborne Airport (GIS), which is nearly antipodal to Alicante-Elche Airport (meaning Alicante-Elche Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gisborne Airport), and is located 12,353 miles (19,881 kilometers) away in Gisborne, New Zealand.
• New car parking was opened in 2011 together with the new terminal.
• The new terminal was officially opened on 23 March 2011.
• Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) is Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SSW of ALC.
• The terminal has an area of 333,500 m2, which is more than six times the size of terminals 1 and 2 together.
• Because of Alicante-Elche Airport's relatively low elevation of 141 feet, planes can take off or land at Alicante-Elche 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.
• Alicante airport is accessible by buses, taxis, and private cars on automobile road N-338.
• In addition to being known as "Alicante-Elche Airport", other names for ALC include "Aeropuerto de Alicante-Elche" and "Aeroport d'Alacant-Elx".
• Alicante-Elche Airport, originally named El Altet, is the sixth busiest airport in Spain based on passenger numbers, and the main airport for the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia.
• In 2011, the new terminal was opened at the airport increasing the annual airport capacity to 20 million passengers per year.
• Historically, up until 2003, Iberia was the leading airline at the airport.