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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Louisville International Airport (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,849 miles (or 11,022 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 Louisville International 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 Louisville International 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 Louisville International Airport (SDF):

• Louisville International Airport is home to the Chautauqua Airlines maintenance complex, capable of holding nine planes, as well as the Compass Airlines main maintenance complex.
• UPS Airlines is currently the airport's largest operator.
• In addition to commercial air traffic there is a significant amount of general aviation activity at Louisville International Airport, for business travel and other purposes.
• The furthest airport from Louisville International Airport (SDF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,239 miles (18,088 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Louisville International Airport (SDF) is Bowman Field (LOU), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SDF.
• In 1970 the terminal again expanded.
• Louisville International Airport (SDF) has 3 runways.
• Because of Louisville International Airport's relatively low elevation of 501 feet, planes can take off or land at Louisville 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.
• Louisville International Airport handled 3,349,162 passengers last year.
• It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.
• In addition to being known as "Louisville International Airport", another name for SDF is "Standiford Field".

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• Beijing Capital International Airport is the main international airport serving Beijing.
• 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.
• Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of 336,000 m2.
• Another expansion, Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics.
• 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.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• Terminal 3 has 243 elevators, escalators or moving walkways.
• One of Terminal 3's highlights is the US$240 million luggage-transfer system.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• 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 Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• Terminal 3 was designed by a consortium of NACO, UK Architect Foster and Partners and ARUP.
• 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".