Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gao, Mali:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gao International Airport (GAQ), Gao, Mali would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,840 miles (or 15,836 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 Gao International 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 Gao International 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):

• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• In 2001, the Commonwealth Government sold its management rights for the airport to Edgelear Pty.
• 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.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• 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 airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.

Facts about Gao International Airport (GAQ):

• Gao International Airport (GAQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Gao International Airport's relatively low elevation of 870 feet, planes can take off or land at Gao 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 Gao International Airport (GAQ) is Labasa Airport (LBS), which is nearly antipodal to Gao International Airport (meaning Gao International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Labasa Airport), and is located 12,390 miles (19,940 kilometers) away in Labasa, Fiji.
• The closest airport to Gao International Airport (GAQ) is Tambao Airport (TMQ), which is located 101 miles (162 kilometers) S of GAQ.