Nonstop flight route between Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Rockford, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Newcastle Airport (NTL), Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), Rockford, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,106 miles (or 14,654 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 Chicago Rockford International 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 Chicago Rockford International 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):

• $8.25 million was spent on upgrades to the terminal facilities completed in November 2005 to cope with future demand and security requirements.
• In addition to being known as "Newcastle Airport", other names for NTL include "RAAF Base Williamtown" and "Williamtown Airport".
• Newcastle Airport handled 1,211,302 passengers last year.
• Newcastle Airport (NTL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Newcastle Airport (NTL) is Maitland Airport (MTL), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) WNW of NTL.
• 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.
• The airport runway is shared with the RAAF Base Williamtown.
• In 1997, BAE Systems was awarded the contract for assembly and ongoing system support for the Hawk 127 Lead in Fighters for the Royal Australian Air Force.
• 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.
• On 2 October 1994, a Rockwell Commander 690B operating for Seaview Air with flight number CD111 departed Newcastle Airport for Lord Howe Island.

Facts about Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD):

• Located in between the two runways, the smaller south cargo apron is home to one of the two FBOs at the airport.
• The airport is in a foreign-trade zone.
• The closest airport to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport (JVL), which is located 30 miles (47 kilometers) N of RFD.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,008 miles (17,716 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• RFD was once the company headquarters for Ryan International Airlines, staging many of its aircraft at the airport for charter hire.
• In an effort to capitalize on the airport's location from downtown Chicago and about 30 miles from the outermost Chicago suburbs), its name was changed to the Northwest Chicagoland Regional Airport at Rockford in the early 2000s.
• Today the Rockford airport is marketed to residents of Rockford and surrounding areas as an alternative to Chicago Midway International Airport and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, WI and Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin as well as limited service airports such as Dubuque Regional Airport in Iowa.
• Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD) has 2 runways.
• Because of Chicago Rockford International Airport's relatively low elevation of 742 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Rockford International 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.