Nonstop flight route between Sacramento, California, United States and Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California, United States and Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,043 miles (or 11,334 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 Sacramento International Airport and Qamdo Bamda 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 Sacramento International Airport and Qamdo Bamda 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 Sacramento International Airport (SMF):

• In the 1990s the consolidated rental car facility and Terminal A opened, which was designed by Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects.
• The furthest airport from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,280 miles (18,154 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Sacramento International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Sacramento 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.
• US Airways previously flew to Las Vegas, but ended service after closing its Las Vegas hub.
• In 2011 the airport carried an estimated 9 million passengers.
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has 2 runways.
• The Terminal A Parking Garage opened September 23, 2004.
• Sacramento International Airport handled 8,910,570 passengers last year.
• As the nation’s economy was taking a hit in 2008, commercial aviation was challenged by reduced passenger numbers and increasing fuel and other costs.
• The closest airport to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of SMF.

Facts about Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX):

• The closest airport to Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Yushu Batang Airport (YUS), which is located 158 miles (254 kilometers) N of BPX.
• Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is located 11,747 miles (18,904 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• The airport is 2.5 hours by mountain road from the county seat of Qamdo.
• In addition to being known as "Qamdo Bamda Airport", other names for BPX include "昌都邦达机场" and "Chāngdū Bāngdá Jīchǎng".
• Because of Qamdo Bamda Airport's high elevation of 14,436 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BPX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BPX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.