Nonstop flight route between Marion, Illinois, United States and Mascot (near Sydney), Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA), Marion, Illinois, United States and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,114 miles (or 14,668 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 Williamson County Regional Airport and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Williamson County Regional Airport and Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA):

• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 3,631 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 3,399 in 2009 and 8,047 in 2010.
• Because of Williamson County Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 472 feet, planes can take off or land at Williamson County 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.
• On November 6, 2006 Mesa Airlines announced that new service to Chicago Midway International Airport would begin in February 2007 operated by subsidiary Air Midwest, with service to Decatur Airport in Decatur, Illinois, and continuing to Chicago Midway International Airport direct.
• It has one FBO, Aeroflite, located at the base of the control tower on the general aviation ramp.
• Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA) is Southern Illinois Airport (MDH), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) W of MWA.
• The furthest airport from Williamson County Regional Airport (MWA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,065 miles (17,807 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):

• Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The area that the airport was situated was originally a bullock paddock.Nigel Love, a former wartime pilot, was looking into the possibilities for aviation in Australia.
• Terminal 2, located in the airport's north-eastern section, was the former home of Ansett Australia's domestic operations.
• Sydney Airport is one of the oldest continuously operated airports in the world, and the busiest airport in Australia, handling 35,630,549 passengers in 2011 and 326,686 aircraftmovements in 2013.
• The limitations of having only two runways that crossed each other had become apparent and governments grappled with Sydney's airport capacity for decades.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• The closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• On 15 April 2014, the Federal Government announced that Badgerys Creek would be Sydney's second international airport, to be known as Western Sydney Airport.
• In March 2010, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released a report sharply critical of price gouging at Sydney airport, ranking it fifth out of five airports.
• The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.