Nonstop flight route between Port Alexander, Alaska, United States and Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Alexander Seaplane Base (PTD), Port Alexander, Alaska, United States and Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,716 miles (or 9,200 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 Port Alexander Seaplane Base 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 Port Alexander Seaplane Base 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 Port Alexander Seaplane Base (PTD):

• Port Alexander Seaplane Base is a state owned, public use seaplane base located in Port Alexander, a city at the southeastern corner of Baranof Island in the Petersburg Census Area of the U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Port Alexander Seaplane Base", another name for PTD is "AHP".
• Port Alexander Seaplane Base (PTD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Port Alexander Seaplane Base (PTD) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,640 miles (17,123 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• Because of Port Alexander Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Alexander Seaplane Base 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.
• Port Alexander Seaplane Base has one seaplane landing area designated N/S which measures 3,000 by 300 feet.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 139 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 189 enplanements in 2009, and 146 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Port Alexander Seaplane Base (PTD) is Point Baker Seaplane Base (KPB), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) E of PTD.

Facts about Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):

• 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.
• At an elevation of 4,334 m above sea level, Qamdo Airport was formerly the highest airport in the world.
• Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.
• The airport is 2.5 hours by mountain road from the county seat of Qamdo.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Qamdo Bamda Airport", other names for BPX include "昌都邦达机场" and "Chāngdū Bāngdá Jīchǎng".