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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China and Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,846 miles (or 11,018 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 Bowman Field, 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 Bowman Field. 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):

• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• 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 Airport was opened on 2 March 1958.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• 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".
• 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.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• It provides 72 aerobridges or jetways, further complemented with remote parking bays which bring the total of gates to 150 for the terminal alone.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.

Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):

• The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
• The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Today Bowman Field is home to hundreds of privately owned aircraft as well as several commercial operations, including Central American Airways, which opened its doors in 1946, Falcon Aviation, Aero Club of Louisville, Inc., and Louisville Executive Aviation.
• Bowman Field is operated by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, which also operates Louisville International Airport.
• The first business ventures began with the aerial photography business in 1921, and the 465th Pursuit Squadron began operations at Bowman Field in 1922.
• Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
• Bowman Field was used in the James Bond film Goldfinger as the base for Pussy Galore's Flying Circus.
• Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field 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.