Nonstop flight route between Pensacola, Florida, United States and Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA), Pensacola, Florida, United States and Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,813 miles (or 14,184 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Gold Coast 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field and Gold Coast 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA):

• during the Korean War, the military was caught in the midst of transition from propellers to jets.
• Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) has 3 runways.
• Forrest Sherman Field was opened in 1954 on the western side of NAS Pensacola.
• Because of Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field 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 Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNW of NPA.
• In addition to being known as "Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field", another name for NPA is "KNPA - FAA: NPA".
• Upon the entry of the United States into World War I on 6 April 1917, Pensacola, still the only naval air station, had 38 naval aviators, 163 enlisted men trained in aviation support, and 54 fixed-wing aircraft.
• The air station also hosts the Naval Education and Training Command and the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, which provides training for all naval flight surgeons, aviation physiologists, and aviation experimental psychologists.
• The site now occupied by NAS Pensacola has been controlled by varying nations.
• The furthest airport from Naval Air Station PensacolaForrest Sherman Field (NPA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,154 miles (17,951 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Also located on board NAS Pensacola is Naval Aviation Schools Command.
• In 1825, the US designated this area for the Pensacola Navy Yard was designated and Congress appropriated $6,000 for a lighthouse.

Facts about Gold Coast Airport (OOL):

• The airport opened an extension to the main runway as well as a full length parallel taxiway in May 2007.
• On 11 December 2013 Jetstar announced that they will end the three times weekly services to Osaka-Kansai on 8 May 2014.
• On 13 August 2012 Qantas announced that it will return to Gold Coast, flying from Sydney three times daily using a Boeing 737-800.
• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.
• On 22 September 2008 it was announced that Air Pacific will expand its services to Australia with the introduction of twice weekly flights between Nadi, Fiji and the Gold Coast commencing in December 2008.
• Despite the name change from Coolangatta Airport to Gold Coast Airport during the change of ownership, the airport still carries its original IATA Airport code, OOL.
• Gold Coast Airport handled 5,261,773 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,905 miles (19,159 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• Because of Gold Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Gold Coast 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 1 January 1988 the airport ownership was transferred from the government to the Federal Airports Corporation.