Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Faro, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Faro International Airport (FAO), Faro, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,684 miles (or 17,194 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 Faro International 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 Faro International 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 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 1941, the Commonwealth Government took control of the airport from the Mackay City Council, and built a new passenger terminal in 1953.
• 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 the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mackay is a thriving mining, agricultural, industrial and regional business centre that also supports a growing tourism industry and is a gateway to the Whitsunday coast and islands.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• In January 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited, announced plans to purchase almost 25 per cent of North Queensland Airports, operator of the airports at Cairns and Mackay, for about $167 million.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.

Facts about Faro International Airport (FAO):

• Because of Faro International Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Faro International 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 Faro International Airport (FAO) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is nearly antipodal to Faro International Airport (meaning Faro International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dargaville Aerodrome), and is located 12,310 miles (19,810 kilometers) away in Dargaville, New Zealand.
• More than ten car rental firms service the airport.
• Faro International Airport handled 5,672,377 passengers last year.
• Since its opening in 1966 Faro airport has had two major developments, the new passenger terminal building in 1989 and its enlargement in 2001.
• Faro Airport is capable of handling six million passengers a year.
• In addition to being known as "Faro International Airport", another name for FAO is "Aeroporto Internacional de Faro".
• Faro International Airport (FAO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Faro International Airport (FAO) is Portimão Airport (PRM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WNW of FAO.