Nonstop flight route between San Francisco, California, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SFO to MEL:
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- About this route
- SFO Airport Information
- MEL Airport Information
- Facts about SFO
- Facts about MEL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SFO
- List of Nearest Airports to SFO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SFO
- List of Furthest Airports from SFO
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEL
- List of Nearest Airports to MEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEL
- List of Furthest Airports from MEL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,863 miles (or 12,654 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 San Francisco International Airport and Melbourne 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 San Francisco International Airport and Melbourne Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SFO / KSFO |
Airport Name: | San Francisco International Airport |
Location: | San Francisco, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°37'8"N by 122°22'30"W |
Area Served: | San Francisco |
Operator/Owner: | City & County of San Francisco |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 13 feet (4 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from SFO |
More Information: | SFO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MEL / YMML |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°40'23"S by 144°50'35"E |
Area Served: | Melbourne |
Operator/Owner: | Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 434 feet (132 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MEL |
More Information: | MEL Maps & Info |
Facts about San Francisco International Airport (SFO):
- The furthest airport from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has 4 runways.
- The airport closed following the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, reopening the following morning.
- On May 12, 2008, a $383 million renovation project was announced that included a new control tower, the use of green materials, and a seismic retrofit.
- Because of San Francisco International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at San Francisco 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.
- San Francisco International Airport handled 44,477,209 passengers last year.
- In summer 2011, Lufthansa and Air France operated the Airbus A380 at SFO seasonally, the first A380 scheduled service to the airport.
- The closest airport to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is Half Moon Bay AirportHalf Moon Bay Flight Strip (HAF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) SW of SFO.
- SFO experiences delays in overcast weather when only two of the airport's four runways can be used at a time because the centerlines of the parallel runways are only 750 feet apart.
Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):
- 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.
- Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
- In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation, placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
- In 2003, Melbourne received the International Air Transport Association Eagle Award for service and two National Tourism Awards for tourism services.
- Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
- The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
- Melbourne Airport was originally called Tullamarine Airport, after the adjacent suburb of the same name.
- Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
- An expansion of the terminal was approved in 1989 and completed in 1991 when a second pier was added by Ansett to the south for use by smaller regional airline Kendell.
- 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".