Nonstop flight route between Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD), Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,255 miles (or 14,894 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 Sioux Falls Regional 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 Sioux Falls Regional 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 Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD):

• Joe Foss Field covers an area of 1,570 acres at an elevation of 1,430 feet above mean sea level.
• On December 20, 1983, Ozark Airlines Flight 650 struck a snow plow while landing, killing the driver.
• In addition to being known as "Sioux Falls Regional Airport", another name for FSD is "Joe Foss Field".
• Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) has 3 runways.
• Sioux Falls Regional Airport was originally the Sioux Falls Army Air Base constructed during World War II and closed permanently in the mid-1960s.
• The furthest airport from Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,610 miles (17,075 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD) is Madison Municipal Airport (XMD), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NNW of FSD.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• 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.
• 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 area of the airport was originally known as St Johns, after an early landowner.
• 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.
• In 2001, the Commonwealth Government sold its management rights for the airport to Edgelear Pty.
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.