Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,779 miles (or 15,738 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 RAF Northolt, 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 RAF Northolt. 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• Mackay Airport located in Mackay, Queensland, Australia is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Mackay, with flights to the cities of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns.
• In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital.
• 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.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• Following Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909, the British Army considered the necessity of defending the United Kingdom from a future air attack.
• Much media attention focused on the airfield when the body of Diana, Princess of Wales, arrived there from Villacoublay airfield, in Paris, France, after her death in a car crash in the city on 31 August 1997.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• Construction of the new aerodrome, to be named "RFC Military School, Ruislip", began in January 1915.
• In April 2013, the Ministry of Defence announced a proposal to increase the number of private flights from 7,000 to 12,000 per year as part of plans to increase the income generated by the airfield.
• Squadrons based at RAF Northolt during the battle shot down a total of 148 Luftwaffe aircraft and damaged 52.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1943, the station became the first to fly sorties using Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXs in German airspace in support of bomber operations.