Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Ketchikan, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB), Ketchikan, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,074 miles (or 12,994 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 Melbourne Airport and Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base, 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 Melbourne Airport and Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base. 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• The Southern Freighter Apron has five dedicated freighter parking positions which host 21 dedicated freighter operations a week.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• In 1959 the Commonwealth Government acquired 5,300 ha of grassland in then-rural Tullamarine.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• The airport is 23 km from the city centre.
• Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.

Facts about Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB):

• Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base", another name for WFB is "5KE".
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 38,945 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 40,462 enplanements in 2009, and 43,737 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB) is Ketchikan International Airport (KTN), which is located only 2 miles (3 kilometers) WNW of WFB.
• The furthest airport from Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (WFB) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,613 miles (17,079 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.