Nonstop flight route between Lakselv, Norway and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), Lakselv, Norway and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,343 miles (or 15,035 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak 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 Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL):

• The Royal Norwegian Air Force took control over the airfield in 1945 and started reconstruction.
• By 1959 the United States was concerned that the militarization of the Kola Peninsula would become the prime point of a Soviet attack on North America.
• Because of Lakselv Airport, Banak's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Lakselv Airport, Banak 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.
• Widerøe is the main airline operating at Banak, with daily flights to Alta and Tromsø using Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Lakselv Airport, Banak", another name for LKL is "Lakselv lufthavn, Banak".
• Interest in Banak rose with the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and fears of Soviet intervention in Norway.
• SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990, making Alta its central hub for Finnmark.
• Lakselv Airport, Banak handled 71,763 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,476 miles (16,859 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL) is Alta Airport (ALF), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) W of LKL.
• The airfield was constructed with triangular runways in 1938.
• Construction was carried out simultaneously at Banak, Alta Airport and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen, which combined would give Finnmark three primary airports.
• During the German occupation of Norway during World War II, Banak was taken over by the Luftwaffe.

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 closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• International flights departed mainly from Sydney during Essendon's years of operation, and there were regular daily flights between the two largest metropolitan areas in Australia.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The 1920s period saw the great pioneering aviation flights of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith who visited the airport on several occasions.
• The airfield itself also has undergone a major upgrade with the installation of lighting and signage systems to bring the airport to International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
• The area of the airport was originally known as St Johns, after an early landowner.
• 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.
• In 1959 Cabinet approved the acquisition of 2,167 ha in Tullamarine for the purpose of a new international airport, which began construction in the 1960s and was ready to handle aircraft by 1967, but not passenger flights.