Nonstop flight route between Valdez, Alaska, United States and Songpan County, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Valdez Airport (VDZ), Valdez, Alaska, United States and Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH), Songpan County, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,862 miles (or 7,825 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 Valdez Airport and Jiuzhai Huanglong 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 Valdez Airport and Jiuzhai Huanglong 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 Valdez Airport (VDZ):

• In addition to being known as "Valdez Airport", another name for VDZ is "Pioneer Field".
• Valdez Airport (VDZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Valdez Airport, also known as Pioneer Field, is a state-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles east of the central business district of Valdez, a city in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area of the U.S.
• The closest airport to Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Tatitlek Airport (TEK), which is located 23 miles (38 kilometers) SW of VDZ.
• Because of Valdez Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Valdez 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.
• Historically, the airport had scheduled passenger jet service provided by Alaska Airlines during the mid 1970s.
• The furthest airport from Valdez Airport (VDZ) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,526 miles (16,940 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Facts about Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH):

• As of April 2012, the airport is served by the following airlines.
• In addition to being known as "Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport", other names for JZH include "九寨黄龙机场" and "Jiǔzhài Huánglóng Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (meaning Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,156 miles (19,563 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• The closest airport to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 116 miles (187 kilometers) SSE of JZH.
• Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport (JZH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport's high elevation of 11,312 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JZH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JZH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.