Nonstop flight route between Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CNS to YSM:
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- About this route
- CNS Airport Information
- YSM Airport Information
- Facts about CNS
- Facts about YSM
- 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 YSM
- List of Nearest Airports to YSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from YSM
- List of Furthest Airports from YSM
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Fort Smith Airport (YSM), Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,648 miles (or 12,308 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 Fort Smith 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 Fort Smith 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: | YSM / CYSM |
Airport Name: | Fort Smith Airport |
Location: | Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada |
GPS Coordinates: | 60°1'13"N by 111°57'42"W |
Operator/Owner: | Government of the Northwest Territories |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 673 feet (205 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from YSM |
More Information: | YSM Maps & Info |
Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):
- Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
- Airport shuttle bus services to hotels, city centre, Northern Beaches, Palm Cove, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation are available.
- During World War II the Australian Government bought the airport for use by the Royal Australian Air Force.
- 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.
- A$200 million redevelopment of the Domestic terminal started in August 2007 and was completed in 2010.
- 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 (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
Facts about Fort Smith Airport (YSM):
- The furthest airport from Fort Smith Airport (YSM) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 9,839 miles (15,834 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
- Because of Fort Smith Airport's relatively low elevation of 673 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Smith 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.
- The closest airport to Fort Smith Airport (YSM) is Fort Chipewyan Airport (YPY), which is located 92 miles (147 kilometers) SSE of YSM.
- Fort Smith Airport (YSM) has 2 runways.