Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Chicago, Illinois, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Chicago, Illinois, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,665 miles (or 15,554 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 Essendon Airport and Chicago O'Hare International 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 Essendon Airport and Chicago O'Hare International 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 Essendon Airport (MEB):

• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.
• The furthest airport from Essendon Airport (MEB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Essendon Airport (meaning Essendon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Essendon became Australia's second, and Melbourne's first international airport in February 1950.
• Because of Essendon Airport's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Essendon 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.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• In 2001, the Commonwealth Government sold its management rights for the airport to Edgelear Pty.

Facts about Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD):

• The furthest airport from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,071 miles (17,817 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• 1,057 fatalities have occurred as a result of accidents en route to or from O'Hare.
• Because of Chicago O'Hare International Airport's relatively low elevation of 668 feet, planes can take off or land at Chicago O'Hare International 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.
• Commercial passenger flights started in 1955 and by the following year O'Hare was served by American, BOAC, Braniff, Capital, Delta, Eastern, North Central, Pan Am, TWA and United, along with freight airlines Riddle and Slick.
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) has 8 runways.
• In 1953, while traveling to an airshow at Naval Air Station Glenview in Chicago, Illinois, Blue Angels pilot LT Harding MacKnight experienced an engine flameout in his F7U Cutlass, forcing him to make an emergency landing at NAS Glenview.
• In 1945, the facility was chosen by the city of Chicago as the site for a facility to meet future aviation demands.
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport, also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, 17 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop.
• The closest airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is Chicago Executive Airport (PWK), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) N of ORD.
• Total annual passenger volume at O'Hare reached 30 million in 1968, 40 million in 1976, 60 million in 1990 and 70 million in 1997.