Nonstop flight route between Nairobi, Kenya and Mackay, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), Nairobi, Kenya and Mackay Airport (MKY), Mackay, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,612 miles (or 12,250 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 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mackay 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 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mackay 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 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO):

• The architects for the terminal were Pascall+Watson, a London based firm that also designed Heathrow Terminal 5 and Dublin Airport Terminal 2.
• After Kenya's independence in 1964, the airport was renamed Nairobi International Airport to more accurately reflect the city it served.
• The closest airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Wilson Airport (WIL), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) W of NBO.
• The furthest airport from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,621 miles (18,703 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled 580,363 passengers last year.
• International arrivals are bused to a temporary facility set up in the ground floor of the new parkade.
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's high elevation of 5,327 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NBO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NBO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• An addition to the existing terminal building, Unit 4, is under construction at a cost of 9.4 billion Kenyan shillings and is slated to open in 2013.
• A new instrument landing system-equipped runway 5,500 metres in length has been approved for construction at a cost of 12.8 billion Kenyan shillings.

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.
• 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 handled 1,049,172 passengers last year.
• In November 2008, Mackay Airport was sold to a private consortium to fund the development of Mackay Hospital.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mackay Airport (MKY) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Mackay Airport (MKY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located 58 miles (94 kilometers) NNW of MKY.