Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Montgomery, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF), Montgomery, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,963 miles (or 14,424 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 Maxwell Air Force Base, 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 Maxwell Air Force Base. 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):

• 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.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• In 1938, the airport held an airshow featuring ten aircraft, which attracted over 8,000 spectators.
• 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.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.

Facts about Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF):

• On December 17, 1929, Congressman Lister Hill introduced a bill to appropriate $320,000 for the acquiring of 1,075 acres of land in Montgomery County as a part of an expansion program for Maxwell Field.
• The Air Corps Tactical School opened July 15, 1931.
• The furthest airport from Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,193 miles (18,013 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Maxwell AFB is the headquarters of Air University, a major component of Air Education and Training Command, and is the U.S.
• The field served as a repair depot during World War I.
• The depot's first official flying mission was carried out after that.
• The closest airport to Maxwell Air Force Base (MXF) is Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of MXF.
• The only operational flying unit at Maxwell is the Air Force Reserve Command's 908th Airlift Wing and subordinate 357th Airlift Squadron, which operates eight C-130H aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Maxwell Air Force Base", another name for MXF is "Maxwell AFB".