Nonstop flight route between Sitka, Alaska, United States and Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT), Sitka, Alaska, United States and Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC), Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,035 miles (or 8,103 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 Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport and Ürümqi Diwopu 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 Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport and Ürümqi Diwopu 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 Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT):

• The airport also has hangars for air traffic control, Civil Air Patrol, and private enterprises.
• Safety hazards include boulders from the causeway washing onto the runway during storms, high winds because of its exposed location, and large flocks of birds that live very close to the airport.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 68,197 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 62,498 enplanements in 2009, and 64,536 in 2010.
• Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Sitka Rocky Gutierrez 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 Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT) is Chatham Seaplane Base (CYM), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) NNE of SIT.
• The furthest airport from Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,611 miles (17,077 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.

Facts about Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC):

• When the airline existed, China Xinjiang Airlines had its headquarters on the airport property.
• In addition to being known as "Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport", other names for URC include "ئۈرۈمچى دىئوپا خەلقئارا ئايروپورتى乌鲁木齐地窝堡国际机场" and "Wūlǔmùqí Dìwōpù Guójì Jīcháng".
• The closest airport to Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) is Turpan Jiaohe Airport (TLQ), which is located 102 miles (163 kilometers) SE of URC.
• Ürümqi Airport was opened to foreign passengers in 1973, and has been the emergency landing ground for airlines to Europe and west Asia.
• Summer 2005 saw Diwopu get a boost when the airport started receiving major foreign airlines.
• The furthest airport from Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) is Gamboa Airport (WCA), which is located 11,489 miles (18,490 kilometers) away in Castro, Chile.
• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport handled 11,078,597 passengers last year.
• Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport (URC) currently has only 1 runway.