Nonstop flight route between Beijing, People's Republic of China and Houston, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,204 miles (or 11,593 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 William P. Hobby 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 William P. Hobby 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 luggage system can handle 19,200 pieces of luggage per hour.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• 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.
• A third runway of BCIA opened on 29 October 2007, to relieve congestion on the other two runways.
• Along with X-ray scanners, additional equipment conducts checks such as for explosives.
• 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.
• 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".
• Beijing Capital International Airport is the main international airport serving Beijing.
• The terminal has gates and a nearby runway that can handle the Airbus A380, which were proven when Singapore Airlines briefly offered A380 flights to Beijing in August 2008 during the Summer Olympics.
• 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.

Facts about William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• Shared-ride shuttle service is available at HOU.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport opened in 1969 because of expansion limitations at Hobby, and all airlines at Hobby moved there.
• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• In 1967 the airport was renamed after former Texas governor William P.
• The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• On April 9, 2012, Houston Director of Aviation Mario Diaz announced support of international flights from Hobby after multiple studies of the economic impact on the entire city of Houston.
• United Airlines, Houston's other major carrier, which would subsequently be forced to compete with Southwest on proposed international routes, has objected to the expansion plans, citing a study which concludes that the change would cost the Houston area jobs and result in a net reduction in GRP.
• The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center serves as the airport's ARTCC.