Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between West Houston Airport (IWS), Houston, Texas, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,977 miles (or 14,448 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 West Houston 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 West Houston 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 West Houston Airport (IWS):

• The closest airport to West Houston Airport (IWS) is Andrau Airpark (AAP), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) SE of IWS.
• West Houston Airport (IWS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from West Houston Airport (IWS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 10,979 miles (17,668 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• On January 3, 2012, a pilot flying a 1985 Cessna 172P with a 180 HP engine from West Houston Airport to Lone Star Executive Airport reported losing power to her aircraft.
• West Houston Airport is a privately owned, public use use airport in Harris County, Texas, United States.
• This airport is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation reliever airport.Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center in Houston is the airport's designated ARTCC.
• Because of West Houston Airport's relatively low elevation of 111 feet, planes can take off or land at West Houston 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine 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.
• Jetstar Airways confirmed its involvement in discussions with Melbourne Airport regarding the expansion of terminal facilities to accommodate for the growth of domestic low-cost services.
• Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
• Terminal 2 handles all international flights out of Melbourne Airport and the city and opened with the airport in 1970.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Melbourne Airport, also known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia.