Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Edinburgh, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Edinburgh, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,652 miles (or 15,533 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 Edinburgh 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 Edinburgh 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):

• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1941, the Commonwealth Government took control of the airport from the Mackay City Council, and built a new passenger terminal in 1953.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of 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.
• 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.
• In the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.

Facts about Edinburgh Airport (EDI):

• Edinburgh Airport is located at Ingliston in the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2013, handling just under 9.8 million passengers in that year.
• Edinburgh Airport (EDI) has 2 runways.
• Edinburgh Airport handled 9,775,443 passengers last year.
• In 1918 the Royal Air Force was formed and the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership transferred to the Ministry of Defence.
• Because of Edinburgh Airport's relatively low elevation of 136 feet, planes can take off or land at Edinburgh 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 2005, a new 57 m tall air traffic control tower was completed at a cost of £10m.
• The furthest airport from Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Passenger traffic at Edinburgh Airport reached a record level in 2013 with nearly 9.8 million passengers and over 111,000 aircraft movements.
• There are currently no direct rail links to Edinburgh Airport, although it lies very close to the Fife Circle and the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway lines.
• When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire.
• The closest airport to Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is Perth Airport (PSL), which is located 34 miles (55 kilometers) N of EDI.
• £250m is to be spent on the airport over the next decade.