Nonstop flight route between Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sligo Airport (SXL), Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,420 miles (or 16,769 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 Sligo Airport and Gold Coast 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 Sligo Airport and Gold Coast 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 Sligo Airport (SXL):

• The Irish Government commissioned Value for Money Review of Exchequer Funding on the Regional Airports Programme recommended the ending of operational subvention to the airport and the ending of the PSO designation citing poor performance, growing operational costs and development of alternative transport connections to the region.
• Sligo Airport (SXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Until the end of 2008 there was a connection with Manchester which was operated by Aer Arann.
• Euroceltic were operating the Government of Ireland public service obligation subsidy scheme for the route to Dublin at the time.
• The furthest airport from Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Sligo Airport", another name for SXL is "Aerfort Shligigh".
• The closest airport to Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of SXL.
• Because of Sligo Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Sligo 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.

Facts about Gold Coast Airport (OOL):

• Until 1999 the airport was known as Coolangatta Airport.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.
• 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 handled 5,261,773 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• 2010 saw Jetstar announce the airport as its newest hub, increased services to Cairns and new direct services to Perth and Queenstown.
• 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 16 November 2010 Jetstar announced new daily direct services to Hobart.