Nonstop flight route between Santiago, Chile and Hawker, South Australia, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), Santiago, Chile and Wilpena Pound (HWK), Hawker, South Australia, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,558 miles (or 12,164 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 Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and Wilpena Pound, 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 Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and Wilpena Pound. 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 Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL):

• The demands of the growing metropolitan area of Santiago and the need for modern, jet-era airport facilities, which could safely accommodate both domestic and intercontinental flights, drove the need to relocate the Chilean capital's principal airport from Los Cerrillos Airport in the denser southwest metropolitan region of Santiago to the more rural northwest metropolitan area.
• The furthest airport from Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA), which is nearly antipodal to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (meaning Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ankang Wulipu Airport), and is located 12,387 miles (19,934 kilometers) away in Ankang, Shaanxi, China.
• The expansion will take into account a capacity growth to 14 million annual passengers by 2014, 34 Million by year 2034 and 50 Million passengers by 2045.
• Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) has 2 runways.
• In 2008, the airport terminal reached its maximum design capacity of 9.5 million annual passengers, 2 years earlier than forecast.
• Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, also known as Santiago International Airport and Pudahuel Airport, located in Pudahuel, 15 km north-west of downtown Santiago, is Chile's largest aviation facility and the busiest international air passenger gateway to the country.
• Construction on Runway 17R/35L began in 2004 and opened to traffic in September 2005.
• The closest airport to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is located 50 miles (81 kilometers) NW of SCL.
• In addition to being known as "Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport", other names for SCL include "Pudahuel Airport" and "Santiago International Airport".

Facts about Wilpena Pound (HWK):

• Attempts at farming the Pound failed during the early 20th century.
• The closest airport to Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Leigh Creek Airport (LGH), which is located 67 miles (108 kilometers) N of HWK.
• The Browne brothers eventually won the claim for Wilpena from Bagot, and the young Henry Strong Price opened up and ran the 40,000-hectare station for them.
• The furthest airport from Wilpena Pound (HWK) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is located 11,642 miles (18,736 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Wilpena Pound's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wilpena Pound 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.
• Although not part of the Pound, the adjacent Elder Range was named by Frederick Sinnett after the very successful Adelaide businessman, Sir Thomas Elder.
• The wall of mountains almost completely encircles the gently-sloping interior of the Pound, with the only breaks being the gorge at Wilpena Gap and a high saddle in the south-western range over which the Heysen Trail passes.