Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Norfolk, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Naval Station Norfolk (NGU), Norfolk, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,513 miles (or 15,310 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 Naval Station Norfolk, 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 Naval Station Norfolk. 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 handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• In 1938, the airport held an airshow featuring ten aircraft, which attracted over 8,000 spectators.
• 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 Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• In the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.

Facts about Naval Station Norfolk (NGU):

• After war was formally declared following Pearl Harbor, Germany began a U-boat offensive, "Operation Drumbeat", against shipping along the Atlantic coast.
• Norfolk responded by renaming the road, Admiral Taussig Boulevard, in honor of the retiring commander of the Naval Operating Base.
• Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• In January 1923, the Secretary of the Navy ordered a detailed study of the capacity of the bases and stations during war and peace.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Station Norfolk", another name for NGU is "Chambers Field".
• The land on which the naval station is located was originally the site of the 1907 Jamestown Exposition.
• Construction of the training camp began on Independence Day 1917, and within the first 30 days housing for 7,500 men had been completed.
• The furthest airport from Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,762 miles (18,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Naval Station Norfolk (NGU) is Norfolk International Airport (ORF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ESE of NGU.
• Lighter-than-air operations, important for off-shore patrols during the war, ceased in 1924.