Nonstop flight route between Alert, Nunavut, Canada and Cairns, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alert Airport (YLT), Alert, Nunavut, Canada and Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,839 miles (or 12,615 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 Alert 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 Alert Airport and Cairns 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 Alert Airport (YLT):

• Alert Airport (YLT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Alert Airport (YLT) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 9,999 miles (16,092 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The closest airport to Alert Airport (YLT) is Eureka Aerodrome (YEU), which is located 299 miles (481 kilometers) WSW of YLT.
• A weather station was established on the site in 1950, and in 1957 construction began on the military facilities which are still in use to this day.
• There have been two crashes involving fatalities at the airfield since it was established.
• Because of Alert Airport's relatively low elevation of 100 feet, planes can take off or land at Alert 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.
• Alert Airport is the world's northernmost permanent airport, located at Alert, Nunavut, Canada, approximately 830 km south of the true North Pole.

Facts about Cairns Airport (CNS):

• Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
• Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport has a single runway which is 3,156 m long.
• 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.
• The airport has direct flights to 20 international and 44 domestic destinations and many general aviation flights including a number of helicopter operators.
• The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
• During the 1970s, Australia's two domestic airlines Trans Australia Airlines and Ansett provided regular scheduled services to most Australian capital cities and also Papua New Guinea, while in 1975 Air Niugini became the first international airline to commence flights out of Cairns, to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
• 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.