Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, Russia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Balakovo Airport (BWO), Balakovo, Saratov Oblast, Russia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,486 miles (or 13,657 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 Essendon Airport and Balakovo 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 Essendon Airport and Balakovo 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 Essendon Airport (MEB):

• On 31 January 1945, a heavily-modified Stinson Model A registered VH-UYY and named Tokana, operated by Australian National Airways, departed from Essendon Airport for the daily flight to Kerang.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• Originally the airport had grass runways with the first tenants moving in from December 1921, including H.J.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 2007, the airport was re-designed under a new master plan, as part of the Essendon Fields development.
• 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.
• 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 major passenger airlines using Essendon in the postwar years until scheduled air services were transferred to Tullamarine were Ansett Airlines and Trans Australia Airlines.

Facts about Balakovo Airport (BWO):

• The closest airport to Balakovo Airport (BWO) is Tsentralny Airport (RTW), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) WSW of BWO.
• Balakovo Airport (BWO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Balakovo Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Balakovo 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 Balakovo Airport (BWO) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 10,444 miles (16,809 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• In addition to being known as "Balakovo Airport", another name for BWO is "Аэропорт Балаково".