Nonstop flight route between Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Mitchell, South Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Airport (CNS), Cairns, Queensland, Australia and Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE), Mitchell, South Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,319 miles (or 13,388 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 Cairns Airport and Mitchell Municipal 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 Cairns Airport and Mitchell Municipal 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 Cairns Airport (CNS):

• During World War II the Australian Government bought the airport for use by the Royal Australian Air Force.
• Ranks are located near both the International and Domestic Terminals.
• The closest airport to Cairns Airport (CNS) is Mareeba Airfield (MRG), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) WSW of CNS.
• Cairns Airport (CNS) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Cairns Airport handled 3,848,728 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airport has a single runway which is 3,156 m long.

Facts about Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE):

• Opened in November 1937, during World War II, the facility was rebuilt in 1943 by the United States Army Air Forces as a Second Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator heavy bomber training airfield field known as Mitchell Army Airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Mitchell Municipal Airport", another name for MHE is "Mitchell Army Airfield".
• The furthest airport from Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,544 miles (16,968 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) has 2 runways.
• Returned over to civil use after the war, it is now a public airport providing general aviation service.
• From July to late September, 1943, the 700th Bomb Squadron of the 445th Bomb Group conducted their advanced training at Mitchell Army Air Field.
• The closest airport to Mitchell Municipal Airport (MHE) is Huron Regional Airport (HON), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) NNW of MHE.