Nonstop flight route between Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia and RMAF Butterworth (BWH), Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,276 miles (or 6,882 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 Bankstown Airport and RMAF Butterworth, 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 Bankstown Airport and RMAF Butterworth. 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 Bankstown Airport (BWU):

• In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
• Bankstown Airport was originally planned in 1929.
• On 15 September 1982, a Douglas C-47, stored in the open, was damaged when the pilot of a light aircraft committed suicide by deliberately crashing it nearby.
• Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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.
• Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.
• In 1970 the government put forth a proposal to expand the airport's operations but this was vigorously opposed by the local community.
• The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
• The airport offers a range of aviation and non-aviation settings with large hangars to accommodate grand scale indoor filming.
• Bankstown Airport operates 24 hours a day, with limitations placed on night circuit training.

Facts about RMAF Butterworth (BWH):

• RMAF Butterworth is an Air Force Station of the Royal Malaysian Air Force situated 4.5 nautical miles from Butterworth in the state of Penang, directly opposite the island itself.
• Because of RMAF Butterworth's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at RMAF Butterworth 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 closest airport to RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is RMAF Butterworth (UTE), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BWH.
• RAF Butterworth was officially opened in October 1941, as a Royal Air Force station which was a part of the British defence plan for defending the Malayan Peninsula against an imminent threat of invasion by the Imperial Japanese forces during World War II.
• The furthest airport from RMAF Butterworth (BWH) is Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport (PIU), which is nearly antipodal to RMAF Butterworth (meaning RMAF Butterworth is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,900 kilometers) away in Piura, Peru.
• In 1957, the RAF closed the station and it was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force and it was promptly renamed as RAAF Station Butterworth, becoming the home to numerous Australian fighter and bomber squadrons stationed in Malaya during the Cold War era.
• In addition to being known as "RMAF Butterworth", another name for BWH is "TUDM Butterworth".
• On 30 June 1988, the airfield was handed over by RAAF to the Royal Malaysian Air Force and was renamed as RMAF Station Butterworth.
• RMAF Butterworth (BWH) currently has only 1 runway.