Nonstop flight route between Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SMS to LXA:
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- About this route
- SMS Airport Information
- LXA Airport Information
- Facts about SMS
- Facts about LXA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMS
- List of Nearest Airports to SMS
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMS
- List of Furthest Airports from SMS
- Map of Nearest Airports to LXA
- List of Nearest Airports to LXA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LXA
- List of Furthest Airports from LXA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,217 miles (or 6,786 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 Sainte Marie Airport and Lhasa Gonggar 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 Sainte Marie Airport and Lhasa Gonggar Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMS / FMMS |
Airport Name: | Sainte Marie Airport |
Location: | Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°5'38"S by 49°48'56"E |
Area Served: | Sainte Marie, Analanjirofo, Madagascar |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 7 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMS |
More Information: | SMS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LXA / ZULS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
GPS Coordinates: | 29°17'52"N by 90°54'42"E |
Area Served: | Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 11713 feet (3,570 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LXA |
More Information: | LXA Maps & Info |
Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):
- Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
- Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie 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 Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Facts about Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA):
- In addition to being known as "Lhasa Gonggar Airport", other names for LXA include "拉萨贡嘎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Lāsà Gònggá Jīchǎnglha sa gong kar dzong".
- The furthest airport from Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,377 miles (18,309 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
- Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) has 2 runways.
- At an elevation of 3,500 metres above sea level, the airport is one of the highest in the world.
- Because of Lhasa Gonggar Airport's high elevation of 11,713 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LXA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LXA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) is Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) W of LXA.
- A night landing facility was created by fixing navigational lighting facilities on the runway at a cost of 99 million yuan only in 2007.