Nonstop flight route between SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States and Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), SeaTac (near Seattle and Tacoma), Washington, United States and Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,778 miles (or 10,908 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 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and Shigatse Peace 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 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and Shigatse Peace 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 Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA):

• Interstate 5 and its offshoot Interstate 405 intersect very close to the airport, and most people use private vehicles to arrive at the airport.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has 3 runways.
• Residents of the surrounding area filed lawsuits against the Port in the early 1970s, complaining of noise, vibration, smoke, and other problems.
• In addition to being known as "Seattle–Tacoma International Airport", another name for SEA is "Sea–Tac Airport".
• Starting in the late 1980s, the Port of Seattle and a council representing local county governments considered the future of air traffic in the region and predicted that airport could reach capacity by 2000.
• Because of Seattle–Tacoma International Airport's relatively low elevation of 433 feet, planes can take off or land at Seattle–Tacoma 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 furthest airport from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,781 miles (17,350 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Seattle–Tacoma International Airport handled 34,776,666 passengers last year.
• A new control tower was built beginning in 2001 and opened November 2004, at a cost of $26 million.
• The closest airport to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Renton Municipal Airport (RNT), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SEA.

Facts about Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ):

• The furthest airport from Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,297 miles (18,181 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) E of RKZ.
• Because of Shigatse Peace Airport's high elevation of 12,408 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Shigatse Peace Airport", other names for RKZ include "日喀则和平机场" and "Rìkāzé Hépíng Jīchǎng".
• Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) currently has only 1 runway.