Nonstop flight route between Hobbs, New Mexico, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lea County Regional Airport (HOB), Hobbs, New Mexico, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,663 miles (or 13,941 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 Lea County Regional Airport 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 Lea County Regional Airport 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 Lea County Regional Airport (HOB):

• Continental Airlines was replaced by Trans-Texas Airlines in 1963.
• The closest airport to Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) is Winkler County Airport (INK), which is located 63 miles (101 kilometers) S of HOB.
• Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,218 miles (18,054 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Lea County Regional Airport is the largest of the three airports owned and operated by Lea County Government.
• The first air mail arrived in Hobbs via Continental Airlines in May 1940 which started passenger flights that year.

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• Although described as a satellite terminal, the terminal building is connected by an above-ground corridor to Terminal 2.
• Expansion of carparks has also continued with a $40 million project commenced in 2004, doubling the size of the short term carpark with the addition of 2,500 spaces over six levels, along with 1,200 new spaces added to the 5,000 already available in the long term carpark.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• In May 1959 it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies announcing on 27 November 1962 a five-year plan to provide Melbourne with a A$45 million "jetport" by 1967.