On the far eastern edge of North America — an island in the North Atlantic that is closer to Ireland than to most of Canada. The province's official name is Newfoundland and Labrador — the island plus its mainland half, Labrador, labelled on the map to the north-west; three airports serve the island. The map below places it among cities you already know; the table under it gives straight-line distances (as a plane flies) to each of the three airports, from North America and Europe, with derived flight times at typical jet cruise.
Questions people ask about where this is
Where is Newfoundland?+
Newfoundland is a large island on the far eastern edge of North America, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It sits in the North Atlantic — 1777 km from New York, 1984 km from Toronto, and 3340 km from Dublin, measured great-circle to Gander International Airport (YQX).
How far is Newfoundland from New York or Toronto?+
Great-circle from Gander (YQX): 1777 km from New York and 1984 km from Toronto — a nonstop would take roughly 2h47 and 3h03 respectively — though neither city has nonstop service to these airports today; real itineraries connect through Halifax, St. John's, Toronto or Montreal. Which airlines fly where is each airport's own information.
Is Newfoundland really closer to Europe than to western Canada?+
Yes, and it is derived, not asserted: Gander is 3340 km from Dublin and 4142 km from Calgary — closer to Ireland than to most of its own country. Gander's airport exists precisely because of that geography: it was the transatlantic stepping stone.
Which airports serve this part of Newfoundland?+
Gander International (YQX) and Deer Lake Regional (YDF), 208 km apart by great-circle, and St. John’s International (YYT) on the Avalon. Those three airports are where almost every measured drive on this site begins.
Can I drive to Newfoundland, or bring my own car?+
Not without a boat — it is an island, and no road reaches it. A car comes across with Marine Atlantic from North Sydney, Nova Scotia: about 7 hours to Port aux Basques on the southwest corner, year-round, daily service, or about 16.5 hours to Argentia on the Avalon, which runs mid-june to late september, up to three times per week. Those are the operator's own published figures; sailings and fares are theirs. Most visitors fly and rent, and the three airports above are where this site measures from — but if the car is coming with you, the crossing is the first decision of the trip and it is a long one.
1,777 km
to New York — closer than Toronto is
Nearer Dublin
than Calgary: Gander is closer to Ireland than to western Canada
France: 269 km
Saint-Pierre sits nearer than Halifax
Locator only — coastline from Natural Earth (public domain); distances are great-circle kilometres between city centres, not flight routes. Arcs are drawn only toward nearby feeder markets; the European dots are geography, not route promises.
Straight-line distance and what a nonstop would take from major cities to each airport — most real routings connect
If a nonstop existed, from
→ Gander (YQX)
→ Deer Lake (YDF)
→ St. John's (YYT)
Halifax
~1h34 · 834 km
~1h23 · 690 km
~1h39 · 896 km
Montréal
~2h24 · 1,480 km
~2h09 · 1,283 km
~2h33 · 1,605 km
Toronto
~3h03 · 1,984 km
~2h47 · 1,787 km
~3h12 · 2,107 km
New York
~2h47 · 1,777 km
~2h34 · 1,607 km
~2h53 · 1,854 km
Boston
~2h23 · 1,471 km
~2h10 · 1,302 km
~2h29 · 1,550 km
Vancouver
~6h40 · 4,811 km
~6h25 · 4,614 km
~6h55 · 5,001 km
Seattle
~6h43 · 4,845 km
~6h27 · 4,645 km
~6h57 · 5,032 km
Los Angeles
~7h24 · 5,384 km
~7h08 · 5,177 km
~7h36 · 5,540 km
Dublin
~4h47 · 3,340 km
~5h00 · 3,509 km
~4h43 · 3,289 km
London
~5h22 · 3,793 km
~5h35 · 3,966 km
~5h17 · 3,737 km
Paris
~5h42 · 4,060 km
~5h56 · 4,239 km
~5h37 · 3,992 km
Lisbon
~5h19 · 3,756 km
~5h35 · 3,961 km
~5h09 · 3,621 km
Air times are our derivation — great-circle distance at a typical jet cruise plus thirty minutes — not a timetable, and most of these pairs have no nonstop. Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles are in the table and not on the map: they sit far outside its frame, and a frame wide enough to reach them shrinks Newfoundland to a speck with the three airports piled on top of each other — so the west coast is placed by the distance instead of the picture. Who flies where, and when, is the airports' own information: ganderairport.com · deerlakeairport.com · stjohnsairport.com.
Times are what a nonstop would take (great-circle at jet cruise, plus 30 minutes) — most of these cities have no nonstop to these airports, and real itineraries connect through Halifax, St. John's, Toronto or Montréal. Who flies where, and when, is the airports' own living information: Gander's flights →Deer Lake's flights →St. John's flights →
One more measured surprise: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon — France itself — sits 269 km from Gander, nearer than Halifax. The European cities on the map are geography, not route promises: today's schedules are the airlines' and airports' own story.
Distances are great-circle from the locator's own coordinate file — the same data the map draws, so a number here cannot disagree with a dot there. Air times are derived (distance at 780 km/h plus 30 minutes), not timetables; routes and schedules are the airports' own to state: Gander (YQX) →Deer Lake (YDF) →St. John's (YYT) →
Why this geography matters
Gander's airport exists because of the map above: the island was the stepping stone every transatlantic flight needed, which is why the Queen opened its terminal, why the Beatles first touched North America here, and why 38 planeloads of strangers landed here on September 11 — that story lives on the Gander airport page. For a traveller today the consequence is simpler: this island is a shorter flight from the eastern seaboard than most people guess, and most measured drives on this site start the moment you land.
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