Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Golmud, Qinghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Golmud Airport (GOQ), Golmud, Qinghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,798 miles (or 10,940 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 San Francisco International Airport and Golmud 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 San Francisco International Airport and Golmud 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 San Francisco International Airport (SFO):

• The airport closed following the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, reopening the following morning.
• San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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 closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
• SFO's international terminal was designed by Craig W.
• After the war United Airlines used the Pan Am terminal 37°38′05″N 122°23′24″W / 37.6347°N 122.39°W / 37.6347.
• In summer 2011, Lufthansa and Air France operated the Airbus A380 at SFO seasonally, the first A380 scheduled service to the airport.
• SFO is the largest airport in the Bay Area and the second busiest in California, after Los Angeles International Airport.
• SFO has expanded through the decades.
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.

Facts about Golmud Airport (GOQ):

• Because of Golmud Airport's high elevation of 9,333 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Golmud Airport (GOQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,763 miles (18,930 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• The closest airport to Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Dunhuang Airport (DNH), which is located 260 miles (418 kilometers) N of GOQ.
• In addition to being known as "Golmud Airport", other names for GOQ include "格尔木机场" and "Gé'ěrmù Jīchǎng".