Nonstop flight route between Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States and Cairns, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH), Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States and Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,694 miles (or 15,601 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Cairns 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Cairns 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH):

• Strategic Air Command maintained the 19th Air Refueling Squadron at Otis AFB flying the KC-97 Stratotanker.
• In December 2013, Otis was selected as a test site by the United States Federal Aviation Administration to "aid in researching the complexities of integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into the congested, northeast airspace." Massachusetts Institute of Technology will work with Otis to test drones at the airport.
• The closest airport to Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH) is Barnstable Municipal Airport (HYA), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) E of FMH.
• During the Cold War, the base was a key Aerospace Defense Command installation.
• During a period of time when the future of the base was in limbo, ideas were floated that would include the redeveloping of the base into a recreation center of sorts that would rival Disneyland.
• The furthest airport from Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On September 11, 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration 's Boston Center contacted the base at 8:34 notifying them of the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11.
• The Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102d Fighter Wing, 101st Fighter Squadron including its previous iterations as a fighter-interceptor group, fighter group, air defense wing and fighter-interceptor wing became the lead command at Otis for executing this mission.
• In addition to being known as "Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod", another name for FMH is "Otis ANGB".

Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):

• Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
• Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.