Nonstop flight route between Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hawkins Field (HKS), Jackson, Mississippi, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,343 miles (or 15,036 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 Hawkins Field 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 Hawkins Field 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 Hawkins Field (HKS):

• In addition to the airfield, the building of a large support base with several hundred buildings, numerous streets, and a utility network was carried out with barracks, various administrative buildings, maintenance shops and hangars.
• The United States Army continues to operate from Hawkins Field via the Mississippi Army National Guard and the 185th Theater Aviation Brigade.
• Hawkins Field (HKS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Hawkins Field", another name for HKS is "(former Jackson Army Air Base)".
• In 1936 the Works Progress Administration’s, Civil Conservation Corps invested $62,150 to improve the airport with a terminal building and paving of an apron.
• The furthest airport from Hawkins Field (HKS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,975 miles (17,662 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Hawkins Field (HKS) is Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) E of HKS.
• Jackson Army Air Base was the name of an abandoned military base in the movie Capricorn One, where they staged a fake Mars landing.
• Because of Hawkins Field's relatively low elevation of 341 feet, planes can take off or land at Hawkins Field 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.
• On July 1, 1944, Jackson Army Air Base was transferred to the Third Air Force.

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• In 2003, Melbourne received the International Air Transport Association Eagle Award for service and two National Tourism Awards for tourism services.
• 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.
• On 1 July 1970, Melbourne Airport was opened to international operations by Prime Minister John Gorton, ending Essendon's near 2-decade run as Melbourne International 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.
• Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".