Nonstop flight route between Shanghai, China and Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), Shanghai, China and Darwin International Airport (DRW), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,079 miles (or 4,955 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 Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Darwin 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 Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Darwin 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 Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA):

• In addition to being known as "Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport", other names for SHA include "上海虹桥国际机场" and "Shànghǎi Hóngqiáo Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport (COC), which is nearly antipodal to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (meaning Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,951 kilometers) away in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• Hongqiao Airport is a hub for China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Juneyao Airlines and Spring Airlines.
• An airport was first built in the town of Hongqiao in the west of Shanghai in 1907, initially as a small military airfield.
• The closest airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) E of SHA.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport handled 33,851,200 passengers last year.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) has 2 runways.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is the main domestic airport serving Shanghai, with limited international flights.
• In preparation for the Shanghai Expo, on 16 March 2010 Hongqiao Airport completed a five-year 15.3-billion-yuan expansion project, which included a 3,300-meter second runway and the new Terminal 2, boosting Hongqiao's capacity to 40 million passengers a year.
• Because of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Shanghai Hongqiao 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.

Facts about Darwin International Airport (DRW):

• During the 2009–10 financial year there was a total of 1,569,007 passengers which consisted of 207,825 international passengers and 1,361,182 domestic passengers, up 2.0%.
• Darwin International Airport handled 1,743,734 passengers last year.
• During the 2010–11 financial year there was a total of 1,679,899 passengers.
• In 2008 the Australian Infrastructure Fund, which holds 28.2% of Northern Territory Airports, announced that the airport would undergo a $60 million expansion to cater for growing passenger numbers.
• Between 1950 and 1974 Darwin Airport acted as the primary domestic and international airport for the Northern Territory and a very important stop for airlines flying between Australia, Asia and onwards to Europe.
• On 8 November 2007 it was announced that it had reached agreements for a $100 million home and lifestyle centre in Darwin Airports Business Park, which will be developed by retail developer Ticor Developments.
• Commercial passenger aircraft most commonly seen at Darwin International Airport include Airbus A319, A320 and A330, Boeing 717, 737 and 767, Beechcraft 1900, Fokker 100, de Havilland Canada Dash 7, Bombardier Dash 8, Embraer E170, Embraer E190 and Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia.
• Because of Darwin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 103 feet, planes can take off or land at Darwin 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 Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,867 miles (19,099 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• The closest airport to Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Bathurst Island Airport (BRT), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of DRW.
• Darwin International Airport (DRW) has 2 runways.
• Until they were withdrawn from service, Concorde made sporadic visits to Darwin as well, having one of the few runways long enough in Australia to handle them.
• In addition to being known as "Darwin International Airport", another name for DRW is "RAAF Base Darwin".