Nonstop flight route between Plymouth, United Kingdom and Beijing, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Plymouth City Airport (PLH), Plymouth, United Kingdom and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,229 miles (or 8,414 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 Plymouth City Airport and Beijing Capital 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 Plymouth City Airport and Beijing Capital 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 Plymouth City Airport (PLH):

• The airport was officially closed by the Sutton Harbour Group on 23 December 2011.
• In 1923, a mail flight, flown by Alan Cobham, to Croydon carried passengers from a grass strip at Chelson Meadow, Plymouth.
• Because of Plymouth City Airport's relatively low elevation of 476 feet, planes can take off or land at Plymouth City 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.
• A multimillion pound airport redevelopment was given the go ahead.
• Plymouth City Airport handled 157,933 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Plymouth City Airport (PLH) is Exeter International Airport (EXT), which is located 37 miles (60 kilometers) NE of PLH.
• Plymouth City Airport (PLH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Plymouth City Airport (PLH) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is nearly antipodal to Plymouth City Airport (meaning Plymouth City Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dunedin International Airport), and is located 12,030 miles (19,361 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• 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".
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• 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.
• Beijing Airport was opened on 2 March 1958.
• 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.
• To accommodate the growing traffic volume, Beijing Capital added the enormous Terminal 3 in 2008 in time for the Olympic Games, the second largest airport terminal in the world after Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3, and the sixth largest building in the world by area.
• Construction of Terminal 3 started on 28 March 2004, and the terminal opened in two stages.
• 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.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Another expansion, Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics.