Nonstop flight route between Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CNS to PPT:
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- About this route
- CNS Airport Information
- PPT Airport Information
- Facts about CNS
- Facts about PPT
- Map of Nearest Airports to CNS
- List of Nearest Airports to CNS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CNS
- List of Furthest Airports from CNS
- Map of Nearest Airports to PPT
- List of Nearest Airports to PPT
- Map of Furthest Airports from PPT
- List of Furthest Airports from PPT
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT), Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,243 miles (or 6,829 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 Cairns Airport and Fa'a'ā 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 Cairns Airport and Fa'a'ā International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CNS / YBCS |
Airport Name: | Cairns Airport |
Location: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°53'12"S by 145°45'17"E |
Area Served: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | North Queensland Airports Group |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CNS |
More Information: | CNS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PPT / NTAA |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia |
GPS Coordinates: | 17°33'24"S by 149°36'41"W |
Area Served: | Tahiti, French Polynesia |
Operator/Owner: | SETIL - Aéroports |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PPT |
More Information: | PPT Maps & Info |
Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):
- Ranks are located near both the International and Domestic Terminals.
- 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.
- Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
- Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport.
- Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
- The airport has two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
Facts about Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT):
- The closest airport to Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is Moorea Airport (MOZ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) WNW of PPT.
- The furthest airport from Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) is El Debba Airport (EDB), which is nearly antipodal to Fa'a'ā International Airport (meaning Fa'a'ā International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from El Debba Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,935 kilometers) away in El Debba (Al Dabbah), Sudan.
- McDonald's is at terminal 2 and is close to the conveyor belts.
- Because of Fa'a'ā International Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Fa'a'ā 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.
- Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT) currently has only 1 runway.
- Air Tahiti has its head office at the airport.
- The Mahina Lounge is a small airside lounge, after the security area.
- In addition to being known as "Fa'a'ā International Airport", another name for PPT is "Aéroport International Tahiti Fa'a'ā".