Nonstop flight route between Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia and Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia and Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,914 miles (or 14,346 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 Gold Coast Airport and Chicago Executive 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 Gold Coast Airport and Chicago Executive 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 Gold Coast Airport (OOL):

• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.
• Gold Coast Airport handled 5,261,773 passengers last year.
• 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.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• Gold Coast Airport, or Coolangatta Airport, is an Australian domestic and international airport located at the southern end of the Gold Coast, approximately 100 km south of Brisbane and 25 km south of Surfers Paradise.
• 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.
• In 1990 the airport welcomed its first international charter service from New Zealand, and by 1999 Air New Zealand low-cost subsidiary Freedom Air started scheduled no-frills service from Hamilton, New Zealand with Boeing 737s.
• The airport opened an extension to the main runway as well as a full length parallel taxiway in May 2007.
• On 26 October 2010 Gold Coast Airport was named the 2010 Major Airport of the Year 2010 by the Australian Airports Association.

Facts about Chicago Executive Airport (PWK):

• Chicago Executive Airport, formerly Palwaukee Municipal Airport, is a public airport 18 miles northwest of Chicago, in the village of Wheeling in Cook County, Illinois.
• In 2007 Chicago Executive's management created a public viewing area east of the south end of Runway 16-34 along Palatine Frontage Road, with parking, a picnic table, bleacher seating and a PA speaker to allow visitors to monitor Air Traffic Control radio communications.
• Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,069 miles (17,813 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Charlie Priester kept an FBO at the airport along with a charter company called Priester Aviation.
• The closest airport to Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) is Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) S of PWK.
• Because of Chicago Executive Airport's relatively low elevation of 647 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago Executive 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 airport logs over 167,000 take-offs and landings each year and is the third busiest airport in Illinois.