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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Duxford Aerodrome (QFO), Duxford, England, United Kingdom and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,018 miles (or 8,076 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 Duxford Aerodrome 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 Duxford Aerodrome 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 Duxford Aerodrome (QFO):

• The 78th Fighter Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for activities connected with Operation Market-Garden, the airborne attack on the Netherlands, in September 1944 when the group covered troop carrier and bombardment operations and carried out strafing and dive-bombing missions.
• In 1936 Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle, who was studying at Cambridge University, flew regularly from Duxford as a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron.
• Because of Duxford Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Duxford Aerodrome 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 air echelon moved to Oujda, French Morocco during January–February 1943.
• Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) has 2 runways.
• Duxford became the home of several specialist units, including the Air Fighting Development Unit, which moved to the station at the end of 1940.
• In addition to being known as "Duxford Aerodrome", other names for QFO include "Royal Air Force Station Duxford" and "USAAF Station 357".
• The closest airport to Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of QFO.
• The furthest airport from Duxford Aerodrome (QFO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,843 miles (19,060 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Construction of Terminal 3 started on 28 March 2004, and the terminal opened in two stages.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of 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.
• The terminal has gates and a nearby runway that can handle the Airbus A380, which were proven when Singapore Airlines briefly offered A380 flights to Beijing in August 2008 during the Summer Olympics.
• The luggage system can handle 19,200 pieces of luggage per hour.
• 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".
• A third runway of BCIA opened on 29 October 2007, to relieve congestion on the other two runways.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.