Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD), Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,404 miles (or 13,526 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 Sioux Falls Regional 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 Sioux Falls Regional 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 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 1938, the airport held an airshow featuring ten aircraft, which attracted over 8,000 spectators.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• 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.

Facts about Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD):

• Sioux Falls Regional Airport was originally the Sioux Falls Army Air Base constructed during World War II and closed permanently in the mid-1960s.
• Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) is Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NNW of FSD.
• On December 20, 1983, Ozark Airlines Flight 650 struck a snow plow while landing, killing the driver.
• Joe Foss Field covers an area of 1,570 acres at an elevation of 1,430 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,610 miles (17,075 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Also located here is the Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Station, home to Headquarters, South Dakota Air National Guard and its 114th Fighter Wing, an Air Combat Command gained unit known as the "Fighting Lobos" and operating F-16C/D aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Sioux Falls Regional Airport", another name for FSD is "Joe Foss Field".