Nonstop flight route between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GIG to MEB:
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- About this route
- GIG Airport Information
- MEB Airport Information
- Facts about GIG
- Facts about MEB
- Map of Nearest Airports to GIG
- List of Nearest Airports to GIG
- Map of Furthest Airports from GIG
- List of Furthest Airports from GIG
- Map of Nearest Airports to MEB
- List of Nearest Airports to MEB
- Map of Furthest Airports from MEB
- List of Furthest Airports from MEB
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,221 miles (or 13,230 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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 Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GIG / SBGL |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°48'35"S by 43°15'2"W |
Area Served: | Rio de Janeiro |
Operator/Owner: | Aeroporto Rio de Janeiro and Infraero |
Airport Type: | Public/Military |
Elevation: | 28 feet (9 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GIG |
More Information: | GIG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MEB / YMEN |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°43'41"S by 144°54'6"E |
Area Served: | Melbourne |
Operator/Owner: | Zavanti Holdings Pty. Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 282 feet (86 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MEB |
More Information: | MEB Maps & Info |
Facts about Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG):
- By 1970 the airport was Brazil's major international and domestic air-hub.
- Some of its facilities are shared with the Galeão Air Force Base of the Brazilian Air Force.
- Because of Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport's relatively low elevation of 28 feet, planes can take off or land at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim 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.
- At the end of the war, Santos Dumont Airport was unable to handle the increased tonnage of aircraft flying on international routes and number of passengers.
- Viação 1001 operates bus 761-D from the airport to Niterói.
- The furthest airport from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), which is nearly antipodal to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (meaning Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan.
- The closest airport to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of GIG.
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport handled 17,115,368 passengers last year.
- During the year 1991, Passenger Terminal 1 underwent its first major renovation in preparation for the United Nations Earth Summit held in 1992.
- In addition to being known as "Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport", another name for GIG is "Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim".
- Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) has 2 runways.
- Presently section A of Terminal 1 is under renovation.
Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):
- In 2007, the airport was re-designed under a new master plan, as part of the Essendon Fields development.
- A variety of aircraft were used through Essendon in the 1960s - Lockheed L-188 Electras.
- The area of the airport was originally known as St Johns, after an early landowner.
- In 2001, the Commonwealth Government sold its management rights for the airport to Edgelear Pty.
- Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
- 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 addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
- 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 airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.