Nonstop flight route between Airlie Beach, Australia and Bagram, Afghanistan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whitsunday Airport (WSY), Airlie Beach, Australia and Bagram Airfield (OAI), Bagram, Afghanistan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,449 miles (or 10,379 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 Whitsunday Airport and Bagram Airfield, 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 Whitsunday Airport and Bagram Airfield. 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 Whitsunday Airport (WSY):

• In addition to being known as "Whitsunday Airport", another name for WSY is "Shute Harbour Airport".
• The closest airport to Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Great Barrier Reef Airport (HTI), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) ESE of WSY.
• Because of Whitsunday Airport's relatively low elevation of 40 feet, planes can take off or land at Whitsunday 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.
• Whitsunday Airport (WSY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Whitsunday Airport (WSY) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,982 miles (19,283 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.

Facts about Bagram Airfield (OAI):

• The closest airport to Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Kabul International Airport (KBL), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) S of OAI.
• During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan the base was secured by a team from the British Special Boat Service.
• Bagram Airfield (OAI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In May 2010, a group of "nearly a dozen" insurgents attacked around the north end of the base.
• The furthest airport from Bagram Airfield (OAI) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,894 miles (19,141 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Bagram Airfield's high elevation of 4,895 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at OAI. Combined with a high temperature, this could make OAI a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Bagram Airfield", other names for OAI include "Bagram Airport (Bagram)" and "د بګرام هوائی ډګر".
• As of late January 2002, there were somewhat over 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan, of which about 3,000 were at Kandahar International Airport, and about 500 were stationed at Bagram.
• Some of the Soviet land forces based at Bagram included the 108th Motor Rifle Division and the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment of the 105th Guards Airborne Division.
• A second runway, 3,500 metres long, was built and completed by the United States in late 2006, at a cost of US$68 million.
• Control of the base was contested from 1999 onward between the Northern Alliance and Taliban, often with each controlling territory on opposing ends of the base.