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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,181 miles (or 11,556 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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 George Bush Intercontinental 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):

• 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.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• 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 handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• 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.
• Beijing Capital has rapidly ascended in rankings of the world's busiest airports in the past decade.
• Terminal 3 has a 300,000 m2 transportation centre with 7,000 car-parking space.
• It provides 72 aerobridges or jetways, further complemented with remote parking bays which bring the total of gates to 150 for the terminal alone.

Facts about George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• As of 2007, Terminals A and B remain from the original design of the airport.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• In the late 1980s, Houston City Council considered a plan to rename the airport after Mickey Leland—an African-American congressman who died in an aviation accident in Ethiopia.
• On July 11, 2013, Air China began nonstop flights from Houston to Beijing, China using a Boeing 777-300ER.
• Terminal D has 12 gates and several international lounges, including two separate British Airways Galleries Lounges, a Lufthansa Senator, a KLM Crown, an Air France, and an Executive Lounge for Singapore, Emirates, Qatar, and Lufthansa.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".
• The airport has a total of five terminals encompassing 250 acres., with a 1.5-mile distance from Terminal A to Terminal D.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.
• The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, located on the airport grounds at 16600 JFK Boulevard, serves as the region's ARTCC.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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.