Nonstop flight route between San Diego, California, United States and Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from SDM to BWU:
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- About this route
- SDM Airport Information
- BWU Airport Information
- Facts about SDM
- Facts about BWU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SDM
- List of Nearest Airports to SDM
- Map of Furthest Airports from SDM
- List of Furthest Airports from SDM
- Map of Nearest Airports to BWU
- List of Nearest Airports to BWU
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWU
- List of Furthest Airports from BWU
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), San Diego, California, United States and Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,530 miles (or 12,118 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport and Bankstown 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 Brown Field Municipal Airport and Bankstown Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SDM / KSDM |
Airport Name: | Brown Field Municipal Airport |
Location: | San Diego, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 32°34'19"N by 116°58'49"W |
Area Served: | San Diego, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of San Diego |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 526 feet (160 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from SDM |
More Information: | SDM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BWU / YSBK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°55'29"S by 150°59'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | Bankstown Airport Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 34 feet (10 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from BWU |
More Information: | BWU Maps & Info |
Facts about Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM):
- On March 16, 1991, seven members of Reba McEntire's band and her road manager were among 10 people who died in the crash of a plane that departed from Brown Field.
- A precision approach is not possible to either runway end due to rising terrain less than six miles east of the airport.
- Because of Brown Field Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 526 feet, planes can take off or land at Brown Field Municipal 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.
- Brown Field is 1.5 miles north of the US/Mexico border in the Otay Mesa Community of the City of San Diego.
- In 1951 the Navy reopened Brown Field due to increased military activity from the Korean War.
- The closest airport to Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Tijuana International Airport (TIJ), which is located only 2 miles (4 kilometers) SSE of SDM.
- The furthest airport from Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,551 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM) has 2 runways.
Facts about Bankstown Airport (BWU):
- Bankstown has its own dedicated air traffic control tower, operated by Airservices Australia, and uses Class D airspace procedures.
- One of its hangars is being used for the filming of Top Gear Australia, however none of the track sections were filmed at Bankstown as it is too busy.
- The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
- Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.
- In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
- Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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 has three runways.
- In the late 1970s Hawker de Havilland relocated their Lidcombe plant to Bankstown Airport.
- The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
- Selective taxiways and aprons are rated at 20 tonnes and limited to 50 tonnes MTOW.