Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Shanghai, People's Republic of China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), Shanghai, People's Republic of China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,535 miles (or 12,127 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Shanghai Pudong International 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Shanghai Pudong International 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• Weather measurements and predictions are critical to all Research Airport operations, rocket and balloon launches, and in safely conducting hazardous operations on the ground.
• In 1945, NASA's predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, established a rocket launch site on Wallops Island under the direction of the Langley Research Center.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• The first payload launched into orbit from Wallops Island was Explorer IX, atop a Scout rocket, on February 15, 1961.
• The WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.
• The furthest airport from Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,785 miles (18,965 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Wallops Flight Facility Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallops Flight Facility 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 Wallops Research Range includes ground-based and mobile systems, and a range control center.

Facts about Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG):

• Shanghai Pudong is the busiest international hub of mainland China, ranking 22nd globally in terms of international traffic.
• Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Shanghai Pudong International Airport", other names for PVG include "上海浦东国际机场" and "Shànghǎi Pǔdōng Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Shanghai Airlines moved to Terminal 2 upon its opening on March 26, 2008 with 14 other airlines, including Air India, Northwest Airlines, Qatar Airways, Alitalia, British Airways, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Philippine Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Transaero Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Aerosvit Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Royal Nepal Airlines.
• The airport is the main hub for China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines, and a major international hub for Air China.
• The furthest airport from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport (COC), which is nearly antipodal to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (meaning Shanghai Pudong International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,990 kilometers) away in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) is Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) W of PVG.
• Shanghai Pudong International Airport handled 44,857,200 passengers last year.
• The airport has 70 boarding bridges along with 218 parking positions.
• Because of Shanghai Pudong International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Shanghai Pudong 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.