Nonstop flight route between Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CNS to RDU:
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- About this route
- CNS Airport Information
- RDU Airport Information
- Facts about CNS
- Facts about RDU
- 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 RDU
- List of Nearest Airports to RDU
- Map of Furthest Airports from RDU
- List of Furthest Airports from RDU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU), Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,417 miles (or 15,155 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 Raleigh–Durham 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 Raleigh–Durham 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: | RDU / KRDU |
Airport Name: | Raleigh–Durham International Airport |
Location: | Raleigh / Durham, North Carolina, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°52'40"N by 78°47'14"W |
Area Served: | The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 435 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from RDU |
More Information: | RDU Maps & Info |
Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):
- The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
- Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- The airport has direct flights to 20 international and 44 domestic destinations and many general aviation flights including a number of helicopter operators.
- Cairns Airport goes back to 1928 when Tom McDonald started flying his de Havilland Gipsy Moth off a sand ridge near the present airport.
Facts about Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU):
- AA retained the daily nonstop flight to London, originally launched to Gatwick Airport in May 1994 with a Boeing 767-200ER.
- The closest airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Triangle North Executive Airport (Franklin County Airport) (LFN), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) ENE of RDU.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport is a public international airport 4.5 miles northeast of the town of Morrisville in Wake County, North Carolina.
- After World War II Capital Airlines joined Eastern at RDU.
- In December 2003, the Airport Authority announced plans to expand and renovate the originally 300,000-square-foot building, transforming it into a new 900,000 ft² facility.
- Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Raleigh–Durham International Airport's relatively low elevation of 435 feet, planes can take off or land at Raleigh–Durham 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.