My 2025 A to Z theme is Airports, Airstrips, Aircraft, and Airlines I’ve known and flown with. I’ll be using IATA codes where they’re available. My inner travel agent emerges at this point as I’m the FTO (family travel organiser) and now, the online travel agent.
How many countries have we visited by flying into an airport? XXXIV
Feel free to blip over this list, and perhaps read the stories below. I needed a viable link for X <smile>.
We could add a few more that we’ve driven or trained into: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Luxemburg and Wales.
| Australia | Netherlands |
| Canada | New Zealand |
| Czech Republic | Pakistan ^ |
| England | Papua New Guinea |
| France | Philippines |
| Germany | Portugal |
| Greece | Scotland |
| Hong Kong (China) | Singapore |
| India | Spain |
| Indonesia (Bali) | Switzerland |
| Iran ^ | Tanzania |
| Ireland | Thailand ^ |
| Italy | Turkiye |
| Kenya | Uganda |
| Malaysia | United Arab Emirates |
| Morocco | United States of America |
| Nepal | Vietnam |
BXF Bellburn Airstrip, Purnululu National Park, Western Australia
My first helicopter flight was at Purnululu then commonly known as the Bungle Bungles. Middle daughter was on school holidays in June 1999, and I was between jobs, so I happily accepted the offer to go camping with her at the Bungles. It was quite an adventure with none of the facilities that seem to be there now. Driving in was pretty rough and rugged and we saw several camper trailers etc whose axles had fallen foul of the road. Her little Suzuki did the job efficiently. You had to take everything in, food and water, and everything, especially rubbish out with you.
Helicopter flights were on offer, so again, how could we resist. If you ever get a chance to go you really have to do the flight just to get a better sense of this amazing natural environment.
You can read more about this on my TroppoNT post for the 2013 A to Z challenge.
KNX East Kimberley Region Airport, Kununurra, Western Australia
Kununurra airport was a transit for us on our 1997/98 short weekend to Broome. While I have no memory of the airport, the town has lots to interest you if you’re driving, as we have done.
BRT Bathurst Island Airport, Nguiu, Bathurst Island, Northern Territory
CULTURAL WARNING: This post contains images and references to deceased Indigenous people.
They say you learn something new every day, and I’ve just learned that Nguiu is now known as Wurrumiyanga. For the time being I’ll stick with Nguiu, as that’s how it was known when middle daughter commenced her teaching career at the Murrupurtiyanawu Catholic School. (You can imagine I had to learn how to spell that to send parcels or letters). One of her funniest flying-related stories was how they would order pizza in from Darwin (a short flight away) for a weekend meal, and tempt the pilot with the smell from the nose-cone where it was stored.
We were lucky enough to visit her on a number of occasions, see where she lived and worked, and go camping. During her years teaching in Indigenous communities, we’ve learned so much from her about the people, their culture and the places.
When the Tiwi Grand Final (Aussie Rules football) is on, the airport is crazy busy with small aircraft as people can visit freely then.
The Tiwi people also had a role to play in alerting Darwin of incoming Japanese aircraft on their bombing raid of Darwin. Unfortunately, it was assumed it was returning Aussie aircraft and a response not actioned. You can read more about this and our Indigenous Anzacs, on my other blog, TroppoNT.
If you’d like to see more of Bathurst Island, you could check out the rom-com/tourist promo movie, Top End Wedding. Three stars is about all it’s worth (or less), but for those of us who’ve lived in the Top End there are some hilarious “in jokes” and for our family, the scenes of Nguiu are nostalgic.
MCY Sunshine Coast Airport, Marcoola, Queensland, Australia
This is the closest airport to us, but I have only flown in once and collected friends a few times. For a range of reasons, we prefer to travel via Brisbane airport, despite the extra distance. MCY is a small airport, and strangely, I can visualised it better than others I’ve visited often.
Is your local airport the one you prefer to use as your travel gateway? Do you love or loathe camping, especially in a tent?
Family history across the seas 
When I was in my early 20’s, I went camping in a tent two different times. It was a fun experience but not one I think I would enjoy today. Has your daughter ever written the stories of the time she taught the indigenous children? I think it would be so interesting. Our sister-in-law that died in February was a missionary for a short time in Liberia and I think her living conditions were really rough. They actually had to evacuate due to political disturbances and she was one of the last ones to leave. I wish I had asked her to tell me more about her time there.
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We loved our camping adventures despite the usual hazards of rain, wind, cold and bugs. We slept on the ground and there’s no way I could do that now!
Our daughter has some great stories and she was going to write them up but probably hasn’t between work and family demands. What a shame that there’s no record of your sister-in-law’s life and work. Perhaps you could write up some of the stories you heard so your family have them. At least our daughter didn’t have the sort of situations like Liberia, although she did a short curriculum trip to Sudan which was a bit “hairy”.
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I think I camped once in a tent and it rained most of the time. In Michigan.
I camped once in a pickup with camper. In Missy. In summer. Lots of mosquitoes.
i preferred the tent . Since we lived out in the country, I was never drawn to camping.
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your comment made me laugh Kristin! Camping did not work well for you obviously. I’m sure that being in the country did make camping feel less attractive.
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XIY – Xian in China is my offering for X.
I’ll leave the camping to you and stick with Outback Spirit.
I remember flying into MCY (another not in myflightradar list) when we spent a weekend at Clive Palmer’s Resort which we enjoyed with one of our families. Perhaps it was 2020 or 2011. You’re sending me scurrying to refresh my memories in my diary and photo archive again!
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You did well with XIY…none for me as China hasn’t appealed. Neither does staying at Clive Palmer’s resort. Glad to add MCY to your list that had been missed. I haven’t been using Myflight radar as an interactive document but spent ages yesterday cleaning it up and adding some. Still lots missing in AUS from work trips but no idea when they happened specifically.
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Happy A-to-Z.
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MCY yes, lots of times since we live nearby and I have siblings and children in other States. No Xs on my radar.
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Interesting that you use MCY a lot a we tend to go out of BNE.
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