Nonstop flight route between Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Cairns, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States and Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,901 miles (or 14,324 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 Columbus Air Force Base and Cairns 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 Columbus Air Force Base and Cairns 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 Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 30th Flying Training Wing at Columbus and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command.
• The base began an active four-year rebuilding program to prepare the base for its new mission and to be part of SAC's base dispersal system.
• In 1992, ATC was inactivated and the 14 FTW came under the newly created Air Education and Training Command and AETC's 19th Air Force.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The first KC-135 Stratotanker, piloted by the wing commander, landed on the new runway on 7 January 1959.
• With the Korean War at an end and pilot production needs dropping, the decision was made to close the contract flying school at Columbus.
• Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 9 miles north of Columbus, Mississippi.
• Columbus was initially assigned to the AAF Southeast Training Center with the Army Air Force Pilot School activated.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• In 1965 the 454th converted to B-52D, which was re-engineered for conventional bomb missions over Southeast Asia, although some B-52Cs were also assigned during 1968–69.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".

Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):

• During World War II the Australian Government bought the airport for use by the Royal Australian Air Force.
• Because of Cairns Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns 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.
• During the 1970s, Australia's two domestic airlines Trans Australia Airlines and Ansett provided regular scheduled services to most Australian capital cities and also Papua New Guinea, while in 1975 Air Niugini became the first international airline to commence flights out of Cairns, to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
• Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport.
• The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
• Short-term and long-term parking, including a covered car park and parking for people with a disability are located within the public carparks adjacent to both the Domestic and International Terminals.
• Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
• The airport has two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
• The furthest airport from Cairns Airport (CNS) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,832 miles (19,041 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.