Nonstop flight route between West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Cairns, Queensland, Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from WYS to CNS:
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- About this route
- WYS Airport Information
- CNS Airport Information
- Facts about WYS
- Facts about CNS
- Map of Nearest Airports to WYS
- List of Nearest Airports to WYS
- Map of Furthest Airports from WYS
- List of Furthest Airports from WYS
- Map of Nearest Airports to CNS
- List of Nearest Airports to CNS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CNS
- List of Furthest Airports from CNS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Yellowstone Airport (WYS), West Yellowstone, Montana, United States and Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,671 miles (or 12,345 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 Yellowstone Airport and Cairns 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 Yellowstone Airport and Cairns Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WYS / KWYS |
Airport Name: | Yellowstone Airport |
Location: | West Yellowstone, Montana, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°41'17"N by 111°7'4"W |
Area Served: | West Yellowstone, Montana |
Operator/Owner: | State of Montana |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 6649 feet (2,027 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WYS |
More Information: | WYS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CNS / YBCS |
Airport Name: | Cairns Airport |
Location: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 16°53'12"S by 145°45'17"E |
Area Served: | Cairns, Queensland, Australia |
Operator/Owner: | North Queensland Airports Group |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CNS |
More Information: | CNS Maps & Info |
Facts about Yellowstone Airport (WYS):
- During the summer the base is home to 21 smokejumpers, pilots for the jump plane and retardant tanker, an office manager and a tanker base manager.
- Two airlines actually operated mainline jet aircraft into the airport in the past, although all service was seasonal in nature and was not operated during the winter months.
- Yellowstone Airport (WYS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Yellowstone Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile north of the central business district of West Yellowstone, a town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States.
- The furthest airport from Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The closest airport to Yellowstone Airport (WYS) is Dubois Municipal Airport (DBS), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of WYS.
- The town of West Yellowstone is located at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
- Because of Yellowstone Airport's high elevation of 6,649 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WYS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WYS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):
- The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
- The airport has a single runway which is 3,156 m long.
- Airport shuttle bus services to hotels, city centre, Northern Beaches, Palm Cove, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation are available.
- Because of Cairns Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns 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 two passenger terminals on the eastern side of the airport on reclaimed mangrove swamp.
- Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
- The airport has direct flights to 20 international and 44 domestic destinations and many general aviation flights including a number of helicopter operators.
- The furthest airport from Cairns Airport (CNS) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,832 miles (19,041 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.