Nonstop flight route between Gladstone, Queensland, Australia and Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gladstone Airport (GLT), Gladstone, Queensland, Australia and Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,643 miles (or 15,519 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 Gladstone Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base, 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 Gladstone Airport and Westover Air Reserve Base. 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 Gladstone Airport (GLT):

• The airport is owned and operated by the Gladstone Regional Council which took control of it by operation of the Local Government Reform when the Gladstone-Calliope Aerodrome Board was dissolved on 15 March 2007.
• Gladstone Airport was ranked 27th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• The Gladstone Regional Council commenced an upgrade of the airport in 2008.
• Because of Gladstone Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Gladstone 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 Gladstone Airport (GLT) is Rockhampton Airport (ROK), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NW of GLT.
• The furthest airport from Gladstone Airport (GLT) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,918 miles (19,180 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• Gladstone Airport (GLT) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• Current military operations at Westover Air Reserve Base are centered around its exceptionally long runways.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• Physically, Westover is the largest Air Force Reserve base in the United States and will expand significantly over the next decade to further encompass Active and Reserve Component activities of the Navy, Marines, Army, and mainline Air Force functions from installations closed by the Base Realignment and Closure process.
• On 1 June 1948 Air Transport Command was reorganized into the Military Air Transport Service, and Westover was designated as Headquarters, Atlantic Division, Military Air Transport Service.
• With the end of World War II, Westover Field was designated as a permanent United States Army Air Force installation in 1945 and was not inactivated as most of the wartime temporary training airfields were in the fall of 1945.
• Westover Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed.
• Detonation in August 1949 by the Soviet Union of an atomic bomb spawned a new strategy in the military, calling for massive retaliation in the event of an attack.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Westover Field was placed under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Air District, later First Air Force, with the 25th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron the main Base Operating Unit.