Nonstop flight route between Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Keflavík International Airport (KEF), Keflavík (near Reykjavík), Iceland and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,550 miles (or 16,979 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 Keflavík 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 Keflavík 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Keflavík International Airport (KEF):

• Keflavík Airport only handles international flights, domestic flights and flights to Greenland and the Faroe Islands are operated from Reykjavík's domestic airport.
• In addition to being known as "Keflavík International Airport", another name for KEF is "Keflavíkurflugvöllur".
• The 10,000-foot-long and 200-foot-wide runways are long enough to support NASA's Space Shuttle and also the Antonov An-225.
• The closest airport to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Reykjavík Airport (RKV), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KEF.
• In 2014 the current terminal will be enlarged.
• Keflavík International Airport (KEF) has 2 runways.
• The Airport has one terminal named Leifur Eiríksson Air Terminal, named for Leif Ericson.
• The airport was built by the United States military during World War II.
• During the war the airport complex only served military purposes, but at war's end it became a refueling stop for the quickly developing international civil aviation crossing the Atlantic.
• Because of Keflavík International Airport's relatively low elevation of 171 feet, planes can take off or land at Keflavík 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.
• The furthest airport from Keflavík International Airport (KEF) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,188 miles (18,005 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• With the re-construction of the military base at Keflavík during the 1950s, the air terminal found itself positioned in the middle of the base.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• In 2007, the airport was re-designed under a new master plan, as part of the Essendon Fields development.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• Essendon became Australia's second, and Melbourne's first international airport in February 1950.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• A variety of aircraft were used through Essendon in the 1960s - Lockheed L-188 Electras.
• 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 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.
• Originally the airport had grass runways with the first tenants moving in from December 1921, including H.J.