Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,577 miles (or 15,412 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, 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 United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. 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):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• 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 (MKY) has 2 runways.
• 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.

Facts about United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):

• In the last quarter of the 20th century, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas.
• Since 1939, the base's water had been supplied by pipelines that drew water from the Yateras River about 4.5 miles northeast of the base.
• The area surrounding Guantanamo bay was originally inhabited by the Taíno people.
• Since 2002, the naval base has contained a military prison, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, for alleged unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places.
• In 2005, the Navy completed a $12 million wind project erecting four wind turbines capable of supplying about a quarter of the base's peak power needs, reducing diesel fuel usage and pollution from the existing diesel generators, while saving $1.2 million in annual energy costs.
• The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
• Notable persons born at the naval base include actor Peter Bergman and American guitarist Isaac Guillory.
• The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.