Nonstop flight route between Grimsby, England, United Kingdom and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Binbrook (GSY), Grimsby, England, United Kingdom and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,686 miles (or 15,588 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 RAF Binbrook 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 RAF Binbrook 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 RAF Binbrook (GSY):

• On 8 September 1970, Captain William Schaffner, an American exchange pilot flying BAC Lightnings with 5 Squadron, took off from Binbrook in the plane XS894 at 22:06, armed with two Red Top air-to-air missiles.
• The closest airport to RAF Binbrook (GSY) is Humberside Airport (HUY), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) NNW of GSY.
• As of 2012 a majority of the accommodation blocks have been demolished.
• The furthest airport from RAF Binbrook (GSY) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,764 miles (18,933 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Royal Air Force Station Binbrook or RAF Binbrook is a former Royal Air Force station near Brookenby, Lincolnshire, England, that was primarily used by Bomber Command.
• RAF Binbrook (GSY) has 3 runways.

Facts about Mackay Airport (MKY):

• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited, announced plans to purchase almost 25 per cent of North Queensland Airports, operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $167 million.
• The airport attracts a diverse range of carriers to service the travel needs of the business, commercial, industrial, leisure and visiting friends and relatives sectors.
• Mackay is a thriving mining, agricultural, industrial and regional business centre that also supports a growing tourism industry and is a gateway to the Whitsunday coast and islands.
• 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.