Nonstop flight route between Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirkwall Airport (KOI), Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,342 miles (or 16,643 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 Kirkwall 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 Kirkwall 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 Kirkwall Airport (KOI):

• Kirkwall Airport (KOI) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Stronsay Airport (SOY), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of KOI.
• Because of Kirkwall Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirkwall 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.
• Kirkwall Airport handled 145,897 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,525 miles (18,548 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

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

• The airport provides a shuttle service between the terminals at a cost of A$5.50.
• In March 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a report sharply critical of price gouging at Sydney airport, ranking it fifth out of five airports.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• The new terminal was officially opened on 3 May 1970, by Queen Elizabeth II.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Terminal 1 was opened on 3 May 1970, replacing the old Overseas Passenger Terminal and has been greatly expanded since then.
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• The local, state and federal governments have investigated the viability of building a second major airport in Sydney since the 1940s.