Nonstop flight route between Caloundra, Queensland, Australia and Lourdes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Caloundra Airport (CUD), Caloundra, Queensland, Australia and Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE), Lourdes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,554 miles (or 16,985 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 Caloundra Airport and Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées 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 Caloundra Airport and Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées 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 Caloundra Airport (CUD):

• Early aircraft operations in the Caloundra area used the sandy beaches for takeoffs and landings, however as early as 1927, community groups were calling for the construction of an airport.
• The Queensland Institute for Aviation Engineering's main campus has been located at the airport since 2000.
• The furthest airport from Caloundra Airport (CUD) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,864 miles (19,093 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• The closest airport to Caloundra Airport (CUD) is Sunshine-Coast-Airport (MCY), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) N of CUD.
• Because of Caloundra Airport's relatively low elevation of 125 feet, planes can take off or land at Caloundra 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.
• Caloundra Airport (CUD) has 2 runways.

Facts about Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE):

• Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport is a small regional airport located 9 km south-southwest of Tarbes and near Lourdes, both communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées département in France.
• The closest airport to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) is Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WNW of LDE.
• The furthest airport from Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (meaning Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,254 miles (19,721 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Over 70% of the airport traffic is charter flight from a variety of airlines across Europe journeying to the nearby Lourdes as part of a Catholic pilgrimage.
• Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport", another name for LDE is "Aéroport de Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées".