Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,472 miles (or 13,634 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 Biggs Army Airfield 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 Biggs Army Airfield and Melbourne 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 Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• With the arrival of the 95th Bomb Wing in June 1952, the host unit at Biggs was changed to the SAC 810th Air Division, which operationally controlled both the 97th and 95th Bombardment Wings.
• Prior to the takeover of Biggs by SAC in October 1948, it had previously moved the B-29 Superfortress-equipped 97th Bombardment Group to the base in May.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
• After World War II, B-29 Superfortress personnel replacement training ended in October.
• The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• What is now Biggs Army Airfield started life in 1915 as an encampment at Fort Bliss, Texas for the 82d Field Artillery.
• In 1920 Camp Owen Bierne opened on the site of the current airbase as a base for airship operations but the units were soon disbanded.

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• 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".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Jetstar Airways confirmed its involvement in discussions with Melbourne Airport regarding the expansion of terminal facilities to accommodate for the growth of domestic low-cost services.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Terminal 2 handles all international flights out of Melbourne Airport and the city and opened with the airport in 1970.
• 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.