Nonstop flight route between Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia and Selma, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia and Craig Field (SEM), Selma, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,863 miles (or 14,263 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 Craig Field, 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 Craig Field. 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):

• On 30 March 2011 Gold Coast Airport was named the Best Regional Airport Asia/Pacific and was awarded the staff Service Excellence Australia/Pacific award at the Skytrax World Airport Awards in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• By 1958 the taxiways and runways were fully paved, with the latter being upgraded a decade later to allow jet operations with DC-9 and L-188 Electra aircraft to begin.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• By 2009 Jetstar began flying at least twice daily to the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The final runway was confirmed as 2,492 m long in 2007, as says the plaque and photos of 2006 runway length of 2042m compared to the 2007 runway length of 2,492m on the left wall of the arrivals southern exit.
• On 26 October 2010 Gold Coast Airport was named the 2010 Major Airport of the Year 2010 by the Australian Airports Association.
• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.

Facts about Craig Field (SEM):

• The furthest airport from Craig Field (SEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,157 miles (17,955 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Craig Field is a public-use airport located four nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Selma, a city in Dallas County, Alabama, United States.
• Because of Craig Field's relatively low elevation of 166 feet, planes can take off or land at Craig 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.
• Craig Field (SEM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Craig Field (SEM) is Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) E of SEM.
• Although the former USAF air traffic control tower at Craig Field remains standing, as of 2007 it was unmanned and non-operational, with UNICOM being used as a common traffic advisory frequency.
• Multiple civilian government and corporate tenants have taken up residency.