Nonstop flight route between Kirksville, Missouri, United States and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK), Kirksville, Missouri, United States and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,971 miles (or 14,437 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 Kirksville Regional 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 Kirksville Regional 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 Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK):

• Because of Kirksville Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 966 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirksville Regional 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.
• A post-war boom in commercial aviation finally reached Kirksville in 1961 when Ozark Airlines began regular air service.
• The closest airport to Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK) is Trenton Municipal Airport (TRX), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) W of IRK.
• The furthest airport from Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,860 miles (17,478 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Aviation in the Kirksville area began in the Kirksville area within a few years of the Wright brothers historic flight.
• Kirksville Regional Airport (IRK) has 2 runways.

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

• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The local, state and federal governments have investigated the viability of building a second major airport in Sydney since the 1940s.
• The new terminal was officially opened on 3 May 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• 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.
• In December 2011, Sydney Airport announced a proposal to divide the airport into two airline-alliance-based precincts.
• Since the international terminal's original completion, it has undergone two large expansions.