Nonstop flight route between Mascot (near Sydney), Australia and Independence, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), Mascot (near Sydney), Australia and Independence Municipal Airport (IDP), Independence, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,747 miles (or 14,076 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Independence Municipal 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Independence Municipal 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 Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD):

• Since the international terminal's original completion, it has undergone two large expansions.
• Because of Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) 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 closest airport to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Bankstown Airport (BWU), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) W of SYD.
• Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) has 3 runways.
• The issue of a second airport for Sydney arose again after the Rudd government was elected in 2007.
• The furthest airport from Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (meaning Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The limitations of having only two runways that crossed each other had become apparent and governments grappled with Sydney's airport capacity for decades.
• Sydney Airport is one of the oldest continuously operated airports in the world, and the busiest airport in Australia, handling 35,630,549 passengers in 2011 and 326,686 aircraftmovements in 2013.
• In addition to being known as "Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport", another name for SYD is "Kingsford-Smith Airport".
• The airport provides a shuttle service between the terminals at a cost of A$5.50.
• In 1921 the federal government purchased 161 acres in Mascot for the purpose of creating a public airfield.

Facts about Independence Municipal Airport (IDP):

• In addition to being known as "Independence Municipal Airport", another name for IDP is "(former Independence AAF)".
• Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) is Coffeyville Municipal Airport (CFV), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) ESE of IDP.
• The furthest airport from Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,698 miles (17,217 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Independence Municipal Airport's relatively low elevation of 825 feet, planes can take off or land at Independence 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.