Nonstop flight route between Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Gold Coast Airport (OOL), Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,700 miles (or 15,611 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 Westover Air Reserve Base and Gold Coast 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 Westover Air Reserve Base and Gold Coast 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 Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• On 1 February 1946 Westover became an Air Transport Command base which meant that it was the terminus for air routes around the world.
• The original airfield at Westover consisted of three runways in the standard "A" pattern to accommodate landings in all directions based on wind direction.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• The mission of Westover was to organize and provide initial training to new combat units.
• A second ADC interceptor squadron, the 324th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was activated at Westover on 18 October 1955.
• Westover Field was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed.
• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• Plans for Westover Field were made in 1939 as a result of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland in 1939.
• With the end of World War II, Westover Field was designated as a permanent United States Army Air Force installation in 1945 and was not inactivated as most of the wartime temporary training airfields were in the fall of 1945.

Facts about Gold Coast Airport (OOL):

• The furthest airport from Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,905 miles (19,159 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• The closest airport to Gold Coast Airport (OOL) is Ballina Byron Gateway Airport (BNK), which is located 46 miles (75 kilometers) S of OOL.
• Gold Coast Airport, or Coolangatta Airport, is an Australian domestic and international airport located at the southern end of the Gold Coast, approximately 100 km south of Brisbane and 25 km south of Surfers Paradise.
• In 1990 the airport welcomed its first international charter service from New Zealand, and by 1999 Air New Zealand low-cost subsidiary Freedom Air started scheduled no-frills service from Hamilton, New Zealand with Boeing 737s.
• Because of Gold Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 21 feet, planes can take off or land at Gold Coast 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 opened an extension to the main runway as well as a full length parallel taxiway in May 2007.
• Gold Coast Airport handled 5,261,773 passengers last year.
• Gold Coast Airport (OOL) has 2 runways.
• On 30 March 2011 Gold Coast Airport was named the Best Regional Airport Asia/Pacific and was awarded the staff Service Excellence Australia/Pacific award at the Skytrax World Airport Awards in Copenhagen, Denmark.