Nonstop flight route between Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Pierre, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newcastle Airport (NTL), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,587 miles (or 13,820 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 Newcastle Airport and Pierre 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 Newcastle Airport and Pierre 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 Newcastle Airport (NTL):

• Because of Newcastle Airport's relatively low elevation of 31 feet, planes can take off or land at Newcastle 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.
• Newcastle Airport (NTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Newcastle Airport (meaning Newcastle Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,102 miles (19,476 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• In addition to being known as "Newcastle Airport", other names for NTL include "RAAF Base Williamtown" and "Williamtown Airport".
• Impulse Airlines, a regional airline and later one of Australia's first low cost airlines, established a base at the airport in the early 1990s, creating a maintenance facility.
• Flight JQ371, the inaugural flight of Jetstar Airways departed Newcastle for Melbourne on 24 May 2004.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WNW of NTL.
• Newcastle Airport handled 1,211,302 passengers last year.
• In July 2012, developer GWH Group announced that it had lodged a development application with the Port Stephens Council to construct a $12 million hotel complex on airport land adjacent to the current long term car park.
• On 2 October 1994, a Rockwell Commander 690B operating for Seaview Air with flight number CD111 departed Newcastle Airport for Lord Howe Island.
• The airport runway is shared with the RAAF Base Williamtown.

Facts about Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):

• In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 15,983 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 13,692 in 2009 and 14,686 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.
• The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
• Pierre Regional Airport covers 1,735 acres at an elevation of 1,744 feet above mean sea level.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces by Air Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply depot.