Nonstop flight route between Madison, South Dakota, United States and Lukla, Nepal:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from XMD to LUA:
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- About this route
- XMD Airport Information
- LUA Airport Information
- Facts about XMD
- Facts about LUA
- Map of Nearest Airports to XMD
- List of Nearest Airports to XMD
- Map of Furthest Airports from XMD
- List of Furthest Airports from XMD
- Map of Nearest Airports to LUA
- List of Nearest Airports to LUA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LUA
- List of Furthest Airports from LUA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), Madison, South Dakota, United States and Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,477 miles (or 12,032 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 Madison Municipal Airport and Tenzing-Hillary 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 Madison Municipal Airport and Tenzing-Hillary Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | XMD / KMDS |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Madison, South Dakota, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°0'59"N by 97°5'8"W |
Area Served: | Madison, South Dakota |
Operator/Owner: | City of Madison |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1718 feet (524 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from XMD |
More Information: | XMD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LUA / VNLK |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lukla, Nepal |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°41'14"N by 86°43'54"E |
Area Served: | Lukla, Nepal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9383 feet (2,860 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LUA |
More Information: | LUA Maps & Info |
Facts about Madison Municipal Airport (XMD):
- In addition to being known as "Madison Municipal Airport", another name for XMD is "MDS".
- Madison Municipal Airport covers an area of 375 acres at an elevation of 1,718 feet above mean sea level.
- Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Brookings Regional Airport (BKX), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NNE of XMD.
- The furthest airport from Madison Municipal Airport (XMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,587 miles (17,039 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA):
- The closest airport to Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Phaplu Airport (PPL), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of LUA.
- In addition to being known as "Tenzing-Hillary Airport", another name for LUA is "तेन्जिङ हिलारी विमानस्थल".
- Because of Tenzing-Hillary Airport's high elevation of 9,383 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LUA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LUA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In January 2008 the airport was renamed in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest and also to mark their efforts in the construction of this airport.
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- Aircraft can only use runway 06 for landings and runway 24 for takeoffs.There is no prospect of a successful go-around on short final due to the terrain.
- The airport is popular because Lukla is the place where most people start the climb to Mount Everest Base Camp.