Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from BEX to MKY:
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- About this route
- BEX Airport Information
- MKY Airport Information
- Facts about BEX
- Facts about MKY
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEX
- List of Nearest Airports to BEX
- Map of Furthest Airports from BEX
- List of Furthest Airports from BEX
- Map of Nearest Airports to MKY
- List of Nearest Airports to MKY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MKY
- List of Furthest Airports from MKY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,798 miles (or 15,768 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 RAF Benson and Mackay 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 RAF Benson and Mackay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEX / EGUB |
Airport Name: | RAF Benson |
Location: | Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°36'59"N by 1°5'44"W |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from BEX |
More Information: | BEX Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MKY / YBMK |
Airport Name: | Mackay Airport |
Location: | Mackay, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 21°10'18"S by 149°10'46"E |
Operator/Owner: | Mackay Airport Pty Ltd |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 19 feet (6 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MKY |
More Information: | MKY Maps & Info |
Facts about RAF Benson (BEX):
- The King's Flight moved from RAF Hendon and would stay until after the war, moving to RAF Northolt in 1995.
- The future of RAF Benson was in doubt for some time, while Project Belvedere was looking into closing at least one of Joint Helicopter Command's airfields.
- The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
- The Battles were replaced in December 1940 with Vickers Wellington medium bombers.
- The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):
- Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
- In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited, announced plans to purchase almost 25 per cent of North Queensland Airports, operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $167 million.
- The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
- In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital.
- Mackay Airport had grass landing strips until 1940, when the Commonwealth Government extended the airport's boundaries and upgraded the runways to unsealed gravel for use during World War II.
- Because of Mackay Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Mackay 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 furthest airport from Mackay Airport (MKY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,973 miles (19,269 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
- In 1941, the Commonwealth Government took control of the airport from the Mackay City Council, and built a new passenger terminal in 1953.
- Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.