Nonstop flight route between West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Purdue University Airport (LAF), West Lafayette, Indiana, United States and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,264 miles (or 14,909 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 Purdue University 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 Purdue University 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 Purdue University Airport (LAF):

• In the early 60s, runway 10-28 and a larger hangar were built to support the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction with two DC-6 aircraft.
• Runway 10 has a Category 1 ILS approach.
• The original hangar, now referred to as the Niswonger Hall of Aviation Technology, still stands and is used by Purdue University's department of Aviation Technology for offices, classrooms, and laboratories.
• The furthest airport from Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,148 miles (17,941 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport covers an area of 527 acres at an elevation of 606 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Purdue University Airport's relatively low elevation of 606 feet, planes can take off or land at Purdue University 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 closest airport to Purdue University Airport (LAF) is Kentland Municipal Airport (KKT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NW of LAF.
• Purdue University Airport (LAF) has 2 runways.

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

• Sydney Airport is one of the oldest continuously operated airports in the world, and the busiest airport in Australia, handling 35,630,549 passengers in 2011 and 326,686 aircraftmovements in 2013.
• 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 Darwin – Sydney route includes data from May 2012, prior data was not released.
• In 2002, the Australian Government sold Sydney Airports Corporation Limited, the management authority for the airport, to Southern Cross Airports Corporation Holdings Ltd.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The airport provides a shuttle service between the terminals at a cost of A$5.50.
• 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.
• The limitations of having only two runways that crossed each other had become apparent and governments grappled with Sydney's airport capacity for decades.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".