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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME), Somerset, Kentucky, United States and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,940 miles (or 11,169 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 Lake Cumberland Regional 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 Lake Cumberland Regional 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 Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME):

• Because of Lake Cumberland Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 927 feet, planes can take off or land at Lake Cumberland Regional 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.
• Lake Cumberland Regional Airport currently does not have commercial service.
• Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was renamed in 2008.
• The closest airport to Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) is London-Corbin Airport (LOZ), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) E of SME.
• The furthest airport from Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (SME) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,309 miles (18,200 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• 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".
• 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.
• An indoor garden is constructed in the T3E waiting area, in the style of imperial gardens such as the Summer Palace.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• Due to limited capacity at Beijing Capital International Airport, a new airport in Daxing is being planned which BCIA will be only served its domestic flights.
• Terminal 1, with 60,000 m2 of space, opened on 1 January 1980, and replaced the smaller existing terminal which was in operation since 1958.
• Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by a public walkway that takes about 10–15 minutes to traverse.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• With the opening of Terminal 3, the terminal was closed for light refurbishment, and its airlines were moved to Terminal 2 on 20 May 2008.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• 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.