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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China and Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME), Somerset, Kentucky, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,940 miles (or 11,169 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 Lake Cumberland Regional 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 Lake Cumberland Regional 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 airport provides free inter-terminal shuttle bus between Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
• Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of 336,000 m2.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• 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.
• On 20 July 2013, a man in a wheelchair detonated small homemade explosives which exploded on Terminal 3 in the Beijing International Airport.
• 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 roof of T3 has dozens of triangular windows to let in daylight.
• 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".
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME):

• Lake Cumberland Regional Airport covers an area of 288 acres at an elevation of 927 feet above mean sea level.
• Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) is London-Corbin Airport (LOZ), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) E of SME.
• The furthest airport from Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,309 miles (18,200 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Lake Cumberland Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 927 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Cumberland Regional 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 airport was renamed in 2008.