Nonstop flight route between Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Melbourne, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keesler Air Force Base (BIX), Biloxi, Mississippi, United States and Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Melbourne, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 524 miles (or 843 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 relatively short distance between Keesler Air Force Base and Melbourne International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Keesler Air Force Base (BIX):

• Other organizations assigned to Keesler AFB include the 45th Airlift Squadron, a geographically separated unit of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas.
• Congress initially appropriated $6 million for construction at Biloxi and an additional $2 million for equipment.
• During the early 1980s Keesler's air traffic control program garnered publicity - when the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job in August 1981.
• The furthest airport from Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,125 miles (17,904 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The Air Force Reserve Command's 403d Wing is a tenant wing also located at Keesler and is an Air Mobility Command -gained composite unit which provides theater airlift support through the 815th Airlift Squadron and its C-130 Hercules aircraft, as well as serving as the parent unit to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a WC-130 unit known as the "Hurricane Hunters."
• Keesler continued to focus upon specialized training in B-24 maintenance until mid-1944.
• The 81 TW is responsible for the technical training of airmen in select skill areas immediately following their completion of basic training as well as providing additional or recurrent training they will need for upcoming assignments.
• The closest airport to Keesler Air Force Base (BIX) is Gulfport–Biloxi International Airport (GPT), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of BIX.
• Driven by deep defense budget cuts, base closures following the end of the Cold War forced an end to technical training at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois and Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado when those bases were closed by BRAC action.
• The Tuskegee Airmen were trained at Keesler.
• In addition to being known as "Keesler Air Force Base", another name for BIX is "Keesler AFB".

Facts about Melbourne International Airport (MLB):

• Because of Melbourne International Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.
• Returned to the city as a Surplus Property Airport after the War, Melbourne Airport was deeded to the city in 1947.
• In the early 1980s some ending scenes for the film Stranger Than Paradise were shot in the Melbourne area, including several plot scenes shot at the Airport.
• In 2010 the airport had non-stop flights to Atlanta on Delta Air Lines and regional partner Atlantic Southeast Airlines, as well as non-stops to Charlotte Douglas International Airport on US Airways' regional subsidiary PSA Airlines.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,549 miles (18,586 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Melbourne International Airport (MLB) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Melbourne International Airport (MLB) is Patrick Air Force Base (COF), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NNE of MLB.
• The Florida Institute of Technology Research, Science and Technology Park covers about 100 acres surrounded by airport tenants such as Northrop Grumman Joint Stars, G.E Railway, Rockwell Collins, DRS Technologies, and L-3, and leases property to two hospitals and one hotel.