Nonstop flight route between Pasco, Washington, United States and Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), Pasco, Washington, United States and Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,666 miles (or 10,729 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 Tri-Cities Airport and Qamdo Bamda 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 Tri-Cities Airport and Qamdo Bamda 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 Tri-Cities Airport (PSC):

• The airport is undergoing a major resurfacing of the runways, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
• Tri-Cities Airport is a public airport 2 miles northwest of Pasco, in Franklin County, Washington, USA.
• Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) has 3 runways.
• The Tri-Cities Airport was site of the first air mail contract flight between Elko, Nevada and Pasco, Washington made by Varney Airlines, in 1926.
• Because of Tri-Cities Airport's relatively low elevation of 407 feet, planes can take off or land at Tri-Cities 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 furthest airport from Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) is Richland Airport (RLD), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) WNW of PSC.

Facts about Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):

• The furthest airport from Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is located 11,747 miles (18,904 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• Visitors are warned before landing to move slowly on leaving the plane and that they may feel light headed or dizzy because of the thin air.
• Because of Qamdo Bamda Airport's high elevation of 14,436 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BPX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BPX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Qamdo Bamda Airport", other names for BPX include "昌都邦达机场" and "Chāngdū Bāngdá Jīchǎng".
• At an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level, Qamdo Airport was formerly the highest airport in the world.
• The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.