Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Junction City, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI), Junction City, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,025 miles (or 16,133 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base, 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 Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base. 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 Christmas Island Airport (XCH):

• Traffic to and from the airport varies greatly.
• 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.
• Christmas Island Airport handled 27,286 passengers last year.
• Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The airport's location at the top of a hill, with a 2% mid-runway gradient, makes it a challenging landing for pilots.
• The closest airport to Christmas Island Airport (XCH) is Cibeureum Airfield (TSY), which is located 276 miles (445 kilometers) NE of XCH.
• 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.

Facts about Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI):

• In 1921, Colonel Fred Herman selected the Smoky Hill Flats across the Kansas River as the location for a new airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base", another name for FRI is "Marshall AAF".
• The closest airport to Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI) is Manhattan Regional Airport (MHK), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NE of FRI.
• Marshall was much used as a convenient stop on cross-country flights.
• One of the oldest military airfields in the United States, Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley, made its first appearance in history in November 1912 as the site of the first attempts in the United States to direct artillery fire from an airplane.
• The furthest airport from Marshall Army AirfieldMarshall Air Force Base (FRI) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,654 miles (17,146 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• In March 1950, after 86 pilots had graduated, the school was moved to Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan.
• The unit is expecting nearly 120 aircraft total, including Kiowas.
• During the war the old strips had to be surfaced and lengthened to take increased traffic and heavier, faster planes.