Nonstop flight route between Fresno, California, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), Fresno, California, United States and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,959 miles (or 12,809 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Essendon 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Essendon 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT):

• Fresno Yosemite International Airport handled 569,879 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The most prominent airlines at Fresno are Skywest Airlines for United Express and Delta Connection, Mesa Airlines for US Airways Express, American Airlines, and Horizon Air.
• The airfield opened in June 1942.
• United Airlines was a major player at the airport for many years, operating Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-300 and Douglas DC-8 jets.
• The closest airport to Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of FAT.
• A US$30 million construction project is under way to widen, lengthen and strengthen secondary runway 11R/29L with scheduled completion in October 2012.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Fresno Yosemite International Airport's relatively low elevation of 336 feet, planes can take off or land at Fresno Yosemite 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.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• On 31 January 1945, a heavily-modified Stinson Model A registered VH-UYY and named Tokana, operated by Australian National Airways, departed from Essendon Airport for the daily flight to Kerang.
• 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.
• The 1920s period saw the great pioneering aviation flights of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who visited the airport on several occasions.
• 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 Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• International flights departed mainly from Sydney during Essendon's years of operation, and there were regular daily flights between the two largest metropolitan areas in Australia.
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.