Nonstop flight route between Christmas Island, Australia and Panama City, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christmas Island Airport (XCH), Christmas Island, Australia and Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN), Panama City, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,888 miles (or 17,522 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 Panama City–Bay County 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 Panama City–Bay County 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.
• 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.
• The airport's location at the top of a hill, with a 2% mid-runway gradient, makes it a challenging landing for pilots.
• Christmas Island Airport (XCH) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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 Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN):

• Because of Panama City–Bay County International Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Panama City–Bay County 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.
• Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN) has 2 runways.
• Panama City–Bay County International Airport began as a private field owned by J.B.
• The closest airport to Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN) is Tyndall Air Force Base (PAM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SE of PFN.
• The furthest airport from Panama City–Bay County International Airport (PFN) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,227 miles (18,068 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1992 the airport was equipped with on-call customs and immigrations facilities provided through the Port of Panama City and was designated as an international airport and renamed Panama City–Bay County International Airport.