Nonstop flight route between Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia and Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Snake Bay Airport (SNB), Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia and Qamdo Bamda Airport (BPX), Qamdo Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,657 miles (or 5,885 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 Snake Bay 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 Snake Bay 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 Snake Bay Airport (SNB):

• Snake Bay Airport is located at Milikapiti, Northern Territory on the northern coast of Melville Island, Australia.
• The Royal Australian Air Force built the airfield as a forward fighter aerodrome, during World War II as part of the proposed strategic amphibious operations by Allied forces against the Tanimbar Islands and Kai Islands.
• The furthest airport from Snake Bay Airport (SNB) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,936 miles (19,209 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• Snake Bay Airport (SNB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Snake Bay Airport (SNB) is Garden Point Airport (GPN), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) W of SNB.
• Because of Snake Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Snake Bay 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 airfield was never fully utilized as the proposed amphibious operations were canceled and replaced with the New Guinea campaign.

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.
• Visitors are warned before landing to move slowly on leaving the plane and that they may feel light headed or dizzy because of the thin air.
• 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.
• 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.