Nonstop flight route between Tampa, Florida, United States and Daocheng, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida, United States and Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY), Daocheng, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,474 miles (or 13,638 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 Tampa International Airport and Daocheng Yading 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 Tampa International Airport and Daocheng Yading 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 Tampa International Airport (TPA):

• Tampa International Airport is a public airport six miles west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States.
• Today an overnight aircraft hardstand and an automated baggage sorting facility for Airside A sit on the former site.
• On July 15, 1972 the 227-foot tall Air Traffic Control Tower opened, the tallest in the United States.
• Construction on the new terminal designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills began in 1968 between the airport's parallel jet-capable runways.
• Trans Canada Airlines inaugurated international flights in 1950 and Drew Field was renamed Tampa International Airport.
• The 1952 terminal was congested as larger jets replaced piston airliners and it was again expanded.
• The furthest airport from Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,435 miles (18,403 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 1952 terminal, built for three airlines, was swamped after the Civil Aeronautics Board granted Capital, Delta, Northeast, Northwest and Trans World Airlines authority to Tampa in the late 1950s.
• Because of Tampa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Tampa 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.
• Airport conveniences that are free of charge include passenger paging, wireless Internet access, cell phone waiting lot with flight information, shuttle service from the economy garage, real-time flight information and travelers aid services.
• The closest airport to Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SE of TPA.
• Tampa International Airport (TPA) has 3 runways.

Facts about Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY):

• In addition to being known as "Daocheng Yading Airport", other names for DCY include "稻城亚丁机场", "Dàochéng Yàdīng Jīchǎng" and "ZUDC".
• The furthest airport from Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,910 miles (19,167 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The closest airport to Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) SSW of DCY.
• At 4,411 m above sea level, Daocheng Yading is the world's highest civilian airport, surpassing the previous record holder Qamdo Bamda Airport, in Tibet, at 4,334 m.
• Because of Daocheng Yading Airport's high elevation of 14,472 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DCY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DCY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was opened with a single scheduled flight between Daocheng and Chengdu, and flights to Chongqing and Barkam are expected to begin before 1 October 2013.