Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Houston, Texas, United States and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,420 miles (or 13,551 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport 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 George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH):

• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has 5 runways.
• In addition to being known as "George Bush Intercontinental Airport", another name for IAH is "Houston-Intercontinental".
• The furthest airport from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,981 miles (17,672 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The site for Bush Intercontinental Airport was originally purchased by a group of Houston businessmen in 1957 to preserve the site until the city of Houston could formulate a plan for a second airport, supplanting what was then known as Houston Municipal Airport.
• On June 19, 2014, Emirates Airlines announced that it would become the second operator of the Airbus A380 at Intercontinental Airport, upgrading its service from Dubai to Houston from Boeing 777 to the "Super Jumbo" A380.
• United Airlines offers thrice-daily bus service to Beaumont, TX, which replaced its air service on July 1, 2012.
• In December 2009 the Houston City Council approved a plan to allow Midway Cos.
• Because of George Bush Intercontinental Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at George Bush Intercontinental 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 A was one of the original two terminals to open in 1969 and was designed by Goleman & Rolfe and George Pierce-Abel B.
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport handled 40,128,953 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (DWH), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) WNW of IAH.

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.
• In 1938, the airport held an airshow featuring ten aircraft, which attracted over 8,000 spectators.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Despite the collapse of airlines Ansett Australia and Flight West Airlines in 2001, Mackay Airport has experienced considerable growth in recent years, due to the use of the airport by Virgin Australia and the expansion of QantasLink services, and handles over 620,000 passengers through the terminal per annum but that has slowed and the airport is up for sale.