Nonstop flight route between Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from HWK to SNB:
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- About this route
- HWK Airport Information
- SNB Airport Information
- Facts about HWK
- Facts about SNB
- Map of Nearest Airports to HWK
- List of Nearest Airports to HWK
- Map of Furthest Airports from HWK
- List of Furthest Airports from HWK
- Map of Nearest Airports to SNB
- List of Nearest Airports to SNB
- Map of Furthest Airports from SNB
- List of Furthest Airports from SNB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia and Snake Bay Airport (SNB), Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,480 miles (or 2,382 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 relatively short distance between Wilpena Pound and Snake Bay Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HWK / YHAW |
Airport Name: | Wilpena Pound |
Location: | Hawker, South Australia, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 31°33'32"S by 138°34'26"E |
Elevation: | 0 feet (0 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from HWK |
More Information: | HWK Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SNB / YSNB |
Airport Name: | Snake Bay Airport |
Location: | Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 11°25'22"S by 130°39'12"E |
Area Served: | Melville Island, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | Tiwi Island Shire Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 173 feet (53 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SNB |
More Information: | SNB Maps & Info |
Facts about Wilpena Pound (HWK):
- The wall of mountains almost completely encircles the gently-sloping interior of the Pound, with the only breaks being the gorge at Wilpena Gap and a high saddle in the south-western range over which the Heysen Trail passes.
- The first European to see the distant mountains of the Pound was almost certainly Edward Eyre from the western plains on his first 1839 expedition to the vicinity of Lake Torrens.
- The furthest airport from Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
- Because of Wilpena Pound's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilpena Pound 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 peaks are very rugged, and thick scrub and timber inside the pound can make navigation difficult.
- The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
- After the immense labour of constructing a road through the torturous Wilpena Gap, they built a small homestead inside the Pound, which still stands today, and cleared some open patches in the thick scrub of the interior.
Facts about Snake Bay Airport (SNB):
- Snake Bay Airport (SNB) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Snake Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Snake Bay 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 furthest airport from Snake Bay Airport (SNB) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,936 miles (19,209 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
- The airfield was never fully utilized as the proposed amphibious operations were canceled and replaced with the New Guinea campaign.
- The closest airport to Snake Bay Airport (SNB) is Garden Point Airport (GPN), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) W of SNB.