Nonstop flight route between Abilene, Texas, United States and Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dyess Air Force Base (DYS), Abilene, Texas, United States and Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,138 miles (or 13,097 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 Dyess Air Force Base and Gold Coast 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 Dyess Air Force Base and Gold Coast 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 Dyess Air Force Base (DYS):

• Dyess AFB is a 6,409-acre base with over 13,000 military and civilian people.
• In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field, as it was popularly known, on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB.
• The base is named after Lt Col William Edwin Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas, who was captured by the Japanese on Bataan in April 1942.
• The closest airport to Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Abilene Regional Airport (ABI), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of DYS.
• The base is located in the southwest corner of Abilene, TX and is about 200 miles west of Dallas.
• In addition to being known as "Dyess Air Force Base", another name for DYS is "Dyess AFB".
• With the end of the war, the base was declared inactive on 31 January 1946.
• The furthest airport from Dyess Air Force Base (DYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,080 miles (17,831 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• On 19 November 1959, the United States Army conducted groundbreaking ceremonies at Dyess AFB for the battalion headquarters of the 5th Missile Battalion, 517th Artillery of the U.S.

Facts about Gold Coast Airport (OOL):

• Because of Gold Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Gold Coast 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.
• Gold Coast Airport handled 5,261,773 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,905 miles (19,159 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• Until 1999 the airport was known as Coolangatta Airport.
• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.
• On 16 May 2007, the runway extension was officially inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport, the Hon Mark Vaile MP.
• Despite the name change from Coolangatta Airport to Gold Coast Airport during the change of ownership, the airport still carries its original IATA Airport code, OOL.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• On 22 September 2008 it was announced that Air Pacific will expand its services to Australia with the introduction of twice weekly flights between Nadi, Fiji and the Gold Coast commencing in December 2008.
• On 13 August 2012 Qantas announced that it will return to Gold Coast, flying from Sydney three times daily using a Boeing 737-800.
• In 1990 the airport welcomed its first international charter service from New Zealand, and by 1999 Air New Zealand low-cost subsidiary Freedom Air started scheduled no-frills service from Hamilton, New Zealand with Boeing 737s.