Nonstop flight route between Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chennault International Airport (CWF), Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,553 miles (or 13,764 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 Chennault International Airport and Mackay 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 Chennault International Airport and Mackay 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 Chennault International Airport (CWF):

• It was previously Chennault Air Force Base and before that, Lake Charles Air Force Base' and Lake Charles Army Air Field, and as such, was home to the now inactivated 44th Bombardment Wing in the 1950s and 1960s.
• The furthest airport from Chennault International Airport (CWF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,037 miles (17,763 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The site was officially designated by NASA as an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle.
• The closest airport to Chennault International Airport (CWF) is Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) SW of CWF.
• Because of Chennault International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Chennault 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.
• Chennault International Airport (CWF) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):

• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• The furthest airport from Mackay Airport (MKY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,973 miles (19,269 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Mackay Airport located in Mackay, Queensland, Australia is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Mackay, with flights to the cities of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• In the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.
• Because of Mackay Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Mackay 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.
• Mackay Airport had grass landing strips until 1940, when the Commonwealth Government extended the airport's boundaries and upgraded the runways to unsealed gravel for use during World War II.
• Moves to establish an airport at Mackay began in 1927, when Captain Ron Adair selected the site of the town commons for the construction of an aerodrome, and landed the first plane in Mackay there, his own Avro biplane.