Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Aurora, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ), Aurora, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,829 miles (or 14,209 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 Mackay Airport and Chicago/Aurora Municipal 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 Mackay Airport and Chicago/Aurora Municipal 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 Mackay Airport (MKY):

• Moves to establish an airport at Mackay began in 1927, when Captain Ron Adair selected the site of the town commons for the construction of an aerodrome, and landed the first plane in Mackay there, his own Avro biplane.
• In 1938, the airport held an airshow featuring ten aircraft, which attracted over 8,000 spectators.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airport attracts a diverse range of carriers to service the travel needs of the business, commercial, industrial, leisure and visiting friends and relatives sectors.
• 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.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.

Facts about Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ):

• In addition to being known as "Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport", another name for AUZ is "ARR".
• The furthest airport from Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,047 miles (17,778 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 712 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago/Aurora Municipal 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.
• Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Chicago/Aurora Municipal Airport (AUZ) is DuPage Airport (DPA), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) NE of AUZ.
• On June 13, 2011, the aircraft Liberty Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress crashed in Oswego, Illinois after taking off from Aurora.
• Current project planning calls for a parallel grass runway during fiscal years 2010-2012.