Nonstop flight route between Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilton Head Airport (HHH), Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,464 miles (or 15,231 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 Hilton Head Airport and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Hilton Head Airport and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Hilton Head Airport (HHH):

• Because of Hilton Head Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilton Head 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.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.
• Hilton Head Airport (HHH) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Hilton Head Airport (HHH) is Beaufort County Airport (BFT), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) NNE of HHH.
• In addition to being known as "Hilton Head Airport", another name for HHH is "HXD".
• The furthest airport from Hilton Head Airport (HHH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,516 miles (18,532 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):

• The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• By the 1960s the need for a new international terminal had become apparent, and work commenced in late 1966.
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• In September 2012, Sydney Airport CEO Kerrie Mather announced the airport had abandoned the proposal to create alliance-based terminals in favour of terminals "based around specific airline requirements and transfer flows".
• Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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.
• Terminal 1 was opened on 3 May 1970, replacing the old Overseas Passenger Terminal and has been greatly expanded since then.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• The issue of a second airport for Sydney arose again after the Rudd government was elected in 2007.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The "third runway" which the Commonwealth government commenced development of in 1989 and completed in 1994, remained controversial because of increased aircraftmovements, especially over many inner suburbs.