Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Pilot Point, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Pilot Point Airport (PIP), Pilot Point, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,241 miles (or 10,044 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 Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• 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 closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.
• 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.
• In the year 2008, the airport handled 837,416 passengers making it the 15th busiest airport in Australia.
• 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.

Facts about Pilot Point Airport (PIP):

• The furthest airport from Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,808 miles (17,394 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• On 1 July 1981, Douglas R4D N111ST of United Aircraft Services crashed shortly after take-off while on a flight to Anchorage International Airport, following the failure of the port engine.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 738 commercial passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, an increase of 9% from the 678 enplanements in 2007.
• Because of Pilot Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is Ugashik Airport (UGS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of PIP.
• Pilot Point Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located in Pilot Point, a city in the Lake and Peninsula Borough of the U.S.
• Pilot Point Airport (PIP) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Pilot Point Airport", other names for PIP include "Pilot Point Airport (new location)" and "PNP".