Nonstop flight route between Gander, Newfoundland, Canada and Haikou, Hainan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gander International Airport (YQX), Gander, Newfoundland, Canada and Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK), Haikou, Hainan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,590 miles (or 12,214 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 Gander International Airport and Haikou Meilan 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 Gander International Airport and Haikou Meilan 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 Gander International Airport (YQX):

• In late-1985, Gander was the site of the Arrow Air Flight 1285 disaster, in which a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 with 256 people on board crashed during takeoff due to atmospheric icing.
• The furthest airport from Gander International Airport (YQX) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,395 miles (18,338 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Gander International Airport's relatively low elevation of 496 feet, planes can take off or land at Gander 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.
• Following the war, the RCAF handed operation of the airfield back to the dominion government in March 1946, although the RCN's radio station remained and the military role for the entire facility was upgraded through the Cold War.
• Construction of the airport began in 1936 and it was opened in 1938, with its first landing on January 11 of that year, by Captain Douglas Fraser flying a Fox Moth of Imperial Airways.
• The Royal Canadian Navy also established Naval Radio Station Gander at the airfield, using the station as a listening post to detect the transmissions and location of enemy submarines and warships.
• During the Cold War Gander was notable for the number of persons from the former Warsaw Pact nations who defected there.
• Gander International Airport (YQX) has 2 runways.
• A major reason that Gander received so much traffic was partly due to its ability to handle large aircraft, but primarily because Transport Canada and Nav Canada instructed pilots coming from Europe to avoid the airports in major urban centres of Central Canada, like Lester B.
• Officials at Gander International Airport have stated that the future for the airport is grim unless the federal government provides funding to cover costs.
• In March 2010, Sun Country Airlines announced that it would use Gander as a refueling stop for its new summer 2010 service between Minneapolis and London Stansted Airport and for its summer 2011 service between Minneapolis and London Gatwick Airport.
• The closest airport to Gander International Airport (YQX) is St. John's International Airport (YYT), which is located 124 miles (199 kilometers) SE of YQX.

Facts about Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK):

• Getting to the airport from Haikou city by taxi usually costs about RMB 50 to RMB 80 and takes about 30 minutes.
• Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Haikou Meilan International Airport", other names for HAK include "海口美兰国际机场", "Hǎikǒu Měilán Guójì Jīchǎng" and "ZJHK[1]".
• A new, international terminal opened on August 14, 2013.
• The airport terminal has 60,200 square metres of space, with 45 check-in counters and 11 security checkpoints.
• The closest airport to Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is Zhanjiang Airport (ZHA), which is located 89 miles (143 kilometers) N of HAK.
• The furthest airport from Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) is Diego Aracena International Airport (IQQ), which is nearly antipodal to Haikou Meilan International Airport (meaning Haikou Meilan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Diego Aracena International Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,921 kilometers) away in Iquique, Chile.
• Haikou Meilan International Airport handled 10,167,818 passengers last year.
• Because of Haikou Meilan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Haikou Meilan 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.