Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Portland, Oregon, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Portland International Airport (PDX), Portland, Oregon, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,704 miles (or 14,008 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 Portland International 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 Portland International 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 Christmas Island Airport (XCH):

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

Facts about Portland International Airport (PDX):

• Because of Portland International Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland International 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 furthest airport from Portland International Airport (PDX) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,903 miles (17,546 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Portland International Airport (PDX) is Portland-Troutdale Airport (TTD), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of PDX.
• By the 1980s, the terminal building began an extensive renovation in order to update PDX to meet future needs.
• Portland International Airport (PDX) has 3 runways.
• In 1925 aviation proponents proposed an airport for Portland on Swan Island, northwest of downtown Portland on the Willamette River.
• The "super airport" had a terminal on the north side, off Marine Drive, and five runways.
• Portland International Airport handled 1,502,956 passengers last year.
• Meanwhile, local travel businesses had begun recruiting other carriers.
• The main terminal consists of one building roughly "H"-shaped and is divided into five concourses.