Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Cold Bay, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from XCH to CDB:
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- About this route
- XCH Airport Information
- CDB Airport Information
- Facts about XCH
- Facts about CDB
- Map of Nearest Airports to XCH
- List of Nearest Airports to XCH
- Map of Furthest Airports from XCH
- List of Furthest Airports from XCH
- Map of Nearest Airports to CDB
- List of Nearest Airports to CDB
- Map of Furthest Airports from CDB
- List of Furthest Airports from CDB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Cold Bay Airport (CDB), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,873 miles (or 11,060 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 Christmas Island Airport and Cold Bay 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 Christmas Island Airport and Cold Bay Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | XCH / YPXM |
| Airport Name: | Christmas Island Airport |
| Location: | Christmas Island, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 10°27'2"S by 105°41'25"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Toll Remote Logistics |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 916 feet (279 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from XCH |
| More Information: | XCH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | CDB / PACD |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Cold Bay, Alaska, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 55°12'19"N by 162°43'27"W |
| Area Served: | Cold Bay, Alaska |
| Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 102 feet (31 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 2 |
| View all routes: | Routes from CDB |
| More Information: | CDB Maps & Info |
Facts about Christmas Island Airport (XCH):
- The closest airport to Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Cibeureum Airfield (TSY), which is located 276 miles (445 kilometers) NE of XCH.
- Traffic to and from the airport varies greatly.
- Because of Christmas Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 916 feet, planes can take off or land at Christmas Island 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.
- Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.
- A brief revival of the "old days" happened in 2001 during the "Tampa" crisis when the heightened Royal Australian Air Force traffic was complemented by a large number of Department of Immigration and Citizenship and media charters.
- Christmas Island Airport handled 27,286 passengers last year.
- From the late 1940s, when the island was still a British colony administered by Singapore and the Straits Settlements Administration, it was serviced occasionally by Royal Air Force Short Sunderland flying boats before the construction of the airport.
- The furthest airport from Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Christmas Island Airport (meaning Christmas Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,944 kilometers) away in Barranquilla, Colombia.
Facts about Cold Bay Airport (CDB):
- The closest airport to Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is King Cove Airport (KVC), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) ESE of CDB.
- The airport was constructed during World War II as Fort Randall Army Airfield during the secret military buildup of the Territory of Alaska that began in 1941.
- The airfield was named Thornbrough Air Force Base in 1948 for Captain George W.
- Cold Bay Airport (CDB) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,968 miles (17,652 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Because of Cold Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cold Bay 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.
- There is a National Weather Service office colocated with the FAA Flight Service Station at the airport.
- A myth describes Cold Bay Airport as an alternate landing site for Space Shuttles, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has stated that it was never so designated, and it was not within the entry crossrange capability of Space Shuttles.
- In addition to being known as "Cold Bay Airport", other names for CDB include "Cold Bay Air Force Station" and "Fort Randall Army Airfield".
