Nonstop flight route between Beijing, People's Republic of China and San Francisco, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,899 miles (or 9,494 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 San Francisco 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 Beijing Capital International Airport and San Francisco 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 Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• Terminal 3 has a 300,000 m2 transportation centre with 7,000 car-parking space.
• Beijing Capital has rapidly ascended in rankings of the world's busiest airports in the past decade.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• In addition to food and beverage businesses, there is a 16,200 m2 domestic retail area, a 12,600 m2 duty-free-store area and a nearly 7,200 m2 convenience-service area, which includes banks, business centres, Internet services and more.
• Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by a public walkway that takes about 10–15 minutes to traverse.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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 1, with 60,000 m2 of space, opened on 1 January 1980, and replaced the smaller existing terminal which was in operation since 1958.
• Along with X-ray scanners, additional equipment conducts checks such as for explosives.

Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• SFO was also one of the first U.S.
• The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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 1989 a master plan and Environmental Impact Report were prepared to guide development over the next two decades.
• All international Star Alliance members aside from Air Canada, Asiana, and TACA use Boarding Area G.
• On July 14, 2008, SFO was voted Best International Airport in North America for 2008 in the World Airports Survey by Skytrax.