Nonstop flight route between Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), Valaparaiso (near Fort Walton Beach), Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,947 miles (or 14,399 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 Northwest Florida Regional 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 Northwest Florida Regional 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mackay Airport handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.

Facts about Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS):

• The furthest airport from Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,174 miles (17,983 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The terminal is a two-level, 107,000 square foot facility opened in November 2004.
• Delta Air Lines is the only airline currently flying mainline jets into the airport with Airbus A319, Boeing 717 and McDonnell Douglas MD-88 jetliners.Delta Connection flies Canadair CRJ-200s and Canadair CRJ-700s from VPS as well.
• In addition to being known as "Northwest Florida Regional Airport", another name for VPS is "Eglin Air Force Base".
• The closest airport to Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) is Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport (DSI), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SSE of VPS.
• Because of Northwest Florida Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 87 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Florida Regional 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.
• Northwest Florida Regional Airport is an airport within Eglin Air Force Base, near Valparaiso and Fort Walton Beach in Okaloosa County, Florida.
• Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS) has 2 runways.