Great Barrier Reef

108 flight routes pass within 50 miles of Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef
🐠 Water · Australia

Photo: Slug69 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The world's largest coral reef system, stretching 2,300 km along Australia's Queensland coast. Its brilliant turquoise shallows are visible from cruising altitude on many Australian routes.
108Flight Routes
OverheadClosest Pass
🐠 WaterType

Routes that pass it108

BNE → EDI Brisbane to Edinburgh · directly overhead Right EDI → BNE Edinburgh to Brisbane · directly overhead Left BNE → SHA Brisbane to Shanghai · 1 mi Both Sides CNS → HND Cairns to Tokyo · 1 mi Right HND → CNS Tokyo to Cairns · 1 mi Left SHA → BNE Shanghai to Brisbane · 1 mi Both Sides AKL → CNS Auckland to Cairns · 1 mi Left BNE → NRT Brisbane to Tokyo · 1 mi Right CNS → AKL Cairns to Auckland · 1 mi Right CNS → NRT Cairns to Tokyo · 1 mi Left NRT → BNE Tokyo to Brisbane · 1 mi Left NRT → CNS Tokyo to Cairns · 1 mi Right BNE → HTI Brisbane to Hamilton Island · 2 mi Both Sides HTI → BNE Hamilton Island to Brisbane · 2 mi Both Sides HTI → SYD Hamilton Island to Sydney · 2 mi Left SYD → HTI Sydney to Hamilton Island · 2 mi Right BNE → PVG Brisbane to Shanghai · 3 mi Both Sides PVG → BNE Shanghai to Brisbane · 3 mi Both Sides BNE → DUB Brisbane to Dublin · 4 mi Both Sides DUB → BNE Dublin to Brisbane · 4 mi Both Sides BWI → KBY Baltimore to Samara · 4 mi Left KBY → BWI Samara to Baltimore · 4 mi Right AKL → HAN Auckland to Hanoi · 6 mi Both Sides HAN → AKL Hanoi to Auckland · 6 mi Both Sides AKL → HKG Auckland to Hong Kong · 8 mi Left HKG → AKL Hong Kong to Auckland · 8 mi Right CXI → PER Kiritimati to Perth · 9 mi Right NRT → SYD Tokyo to Sydney · 9 mi Left PER → CXI Perth to Kiritimati · 9 mi Left SYD → NRT Sydney to Tokyo · 9 mi Right BNE → ICN Brisbane to Seoul · 10 mi Both Sides ICN → BNE Seoul to Brisbane · 10 mi Both Sides BNE → GMP Brisbane to Seoul · 12 mi Both Sides BNE → LHR Brisbane to London · 12 mi Right GMP → BNE Seoul to Brisbane · 12 mi Both Sides LHR → BNE London to Brisbane · 12 mi Left BNE → MKY Brisbane to Mackay · 12 mi Right CNS → KIX Cairns to Osaka · 15 mi Right KIX → CNS Osaka to Cairns · 15 mi Left BNE → LCY Brisbane to London · 16 mi Right BWU → CTS Sydney to Sapporo · 16 mi Left CTS → BWU Sapporo to Sydney · 16 mi Right LCY → BNE London to Brisbane · 16 mi Left CTS → MEL Sapporo to Melbourne · 17 mi Right MEL → CTS Melbourne to Sapporo · 17 mi Left HND → SYD Tokyo to Sydney · 18 mi Left MBW → NRT Melbourne to Tokyo · 18 mi Right NRT → MBW Tokyo to Melbourne · 18 mi Left SYD → HND Sydney to Tokyo · 18 mi Right BDB → BNE Bundaberg to Brisbane · 19 mi Left BNE → KIX Brisbane to Osaka · 19 mi Both Sides KIX → BNE Osaka to Brisbane · 19 mi Both Sides KIX → SYD Osaka to Sydney · 19 mi Left SYD → KIX Sydney to Osaka · 19 mi Right CTS → MEB Sapporo to Melbourne · 20 mi Right MEB → CTS Melbourne to Sapporo · 20 mi Left BNE → TPE Brisbane to Taipei · 23 mi Right TPE → BNE Taipei to Brisbane · 23 mi Left AKL → CAN Auckland to Guangzhou · 24 mi Left CAN → AKL Guangzhou to Auckland · 24 mi Right MCO → CTL Orlando to Charlieville · 24 mi Right BNE → PPP Brisbane to Prosserpine · 25 mi Right ORD → PER Chicago to Perth · 25 mi Left PER → ORD Perth to Chicago · 25 mi Right PPP → BNE Prosserpine to Brisbane · 25 mi Left ADL → PPP Adelaide to Prosserpine · 25 mi Right CTS → SYD Sapporo to Sydney · 25 mi Right MEB → NRT Melbourne to Tokyo · 25 mi Right NRT → MEB Tokyo to Melbourne · 25 mi Left PPP → ADL Prosserpine to Adelaide · 25 mi Left SYD → CTS Sydney to Sapporo · 25 mi Left BNE → POM Brisbane to Port Moresby · 26 mi Both Sides POM → BNE Port Moresby to Brisbane · 26 mi Both Sides BWU → HND Sydney to Tokyo · 27 mi Both Sides HND → BWU Tokyo to Sydney · 27 mi Both Sides MEL → NRT Melbourne to Tokyo · 28 mi Right NRT → MEL Tokyo to Melbourne · 28 mi Left MEB → PPP Melbourne to Prosserpine · 29 mi Right MEL → PPP Melbourne to Prosserpine · 29 mi Right PPP → MEB Prosserpine to Melbourne · 29 mi Left PPP → MEL Prosserpine to Melbourne · 29 mi Left PPP → SYD Prosserpine to Sydney · 29 mi Left SYD → PPP Sydney to Prosserpine · 29 mi Right CHC → CNS Christchurch to Cairns · 29 mi Right CNS → CHC Cairns to Christchurch · 29 mi Left SYD → HVB Sydney to Hervey Bay · 33 mi Left ROK → SYD Rockhampton to Sydney · 35 mi Left SYD → ROK Sydney to Rockhampton · 35 mi Right GMP → SYD Seoul to Sydney · 38 mi Left SYD → GMP Sydney to Seoul · 38 mi Right BNE → CNS Brisbane to Cairns · 39 mi Right CNS → BNE Cairns to Brisbane · 39 mi Left HAK → AKL Haikou to Auckland · 39 mi Right MKY → BNE Mackay to Brisbane · 39 mi Left CNS → OOL Cairns to Coolangatta · 40 mi Left OOL → CNS Coolangatta to Cairns · 40 mi Right HND → MEB Tokyo to Melbourne · 42 mi Left MEB → HND Melbourne to Tokyo · 42 mi Right BKK → NOU Bangkok to Noumea · 43 mi Left MEL → TSV Melbourne to Townsville · 43 mi Right CNS → ZQN Cairns to Queenstown International · 44 mi Left ZQN → CNS Queenstown International to Cairns · 44 mi Right HND → MEL Tokyo to Melbourne · 45 mi Left MEL → HND Melbourne to Tokyo · 45 mi Right ICN → SYD Seoul to Sydney · 46 mi Left SYD → ICN Sydney to Seoul · 46 mi Right NAN → SIN Nandi to Singapore · 50 mi Right SIN → NAN Singapore to Nandi · 50 mi Left
Tip: Visibility depends on cloud cover, time of day, and how close the flight path comes. Sit on the listed side for the best chance of a view. Morning and evening flights often offer the best lighting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see Great Barrier Reef from a plane?

Yes — 108 flight routes pass within 50 miles of Great Barrier Reef. The closest routes include Brisbane to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Brisbane, Brisbane to Shanghai. Sit on the Right side, passing directly overhead.

Which side of the plane is best for viewing Great Barrier Reef?

The best side varies by route. For the most common routes near Great Barrier Reef: on a Brisbane to Edinburgh flight, sit on the Right side; on a Edinburgh to Brisbane flight, sit on the Left side; on a Brisbane to Shanghai flight, visible from both sides.