Nonstop flight route between Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,787 miles (or 15,750 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 Rafael Hernández Airport and Gold Coast 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 Rafael Hernández Airport and Gold Coast 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 Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN):

• The closest airport to Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of BQN.
• Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) currently has only 1 runway.
• For year 2007 the airport transported 400,473 passengers, nearly a 500% increase in five years.
• The furthest airport from Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Rafael Hernández Airport (meaning Rafael Hernández Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,204 miles (19,641 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the past, the airport has been served by major carriers like Capitol Air, Pan Am, Kiwi International Air Lines, TWA, American Airlines, Delta Connection, to mention a few.
• There are official plans to renovate the runway en route to house FedEx expansion.
• The capacity of the airport and its role as the main gateway to Porta del Sol has led local officials to take the position that the airport is extremely undeserved in a region which accounts for one third of Puerto Rico's total population, with the mayor of the Aguadilla asking for the airport to be transferred to the city on several occasions.
• In 1988, Rafael Hernández Airport started to serve as an alternative to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, when Carnival Airlines and ATA began jet service.
• Because of Rafael Hernández Airport's relatively low elevation of 237 feet, planes can take off or land at Rafael Hernández 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.
• Since the closure of Ramey AFB in 1974, the airport's control tower had remained standing, but was non-operational, limiting the airport to UNICOM communication as an uncontrolled airport.

Facts about Gold Coast Airport (OOL):

• Gold Coast Airport, or Coolangatta Airport, is an Australian domestic and international airport located at the southern end of the Gold Coast, approximately 100 km south of Brisbane and 25 km south of Surfers Paradise.
• Because of Gold Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Gold Coast 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.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.
• On 16 May 2007, the runway extension was officially inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport, the Hon Mark Vaile MP.
• The furthest airport from Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,905 miles (19,159 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• Despite the name change from Coolangatta Airport to Gold Coast Airport during the change of ownership, the airport still carries its original IATA Airport code, OOL.
• Gold Coast Airport handled 5,261,773 passengers last year.
• On 30 March 2011 Gold Coast Airport was named the Best Regional Airport Asia/Pacific and was awarded the staff Service Excellence Australia/Pacific award at the Skytrax World Airport Awards in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• By 1958 the taxiways and runways were fully paved, with the latter being upgraded a decade later to allow jet operations with DC-9 and L-188 Electra aircraft to begin.