Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gatwick Airport (LGW), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,506 miles (or 16,908 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 Gatwick 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 Gatwick 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):

• 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 closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 2001, the Commonwealth Government sold its management rights for the airport to Edgelear Pty.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• In November 2007 Essendon Airport released its latest master plan.
• The area of the airport was originally known as St Johns, after an early landowner.
• 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.

Facts about Gatwick Airport (LGW):

• A second 875-foot extension of Gatwick's runway was completed in 1970, bringing it to 9,075 ft and permitting non-stop jet flights to the US east coast with a full payload and full range and payload operations by British United Airways and Caledonian Airways BAC One-Eleven 500s.BEA Airtours made Gatwick their base.
• Queen Elizabeth II flew into Gatwick on 9 June 1958 in a de Havilland Heron of the Queen's Flight for the opening.
• Despite the rapid expansion of BUA's scheduled activities at Gatwick, the airport was dominated by non-scheduled services into the 1980s.
• Gatwick Airport handled 35,444,206 passengers last year.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Redhill Aerodrome (KRH), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of LGW.
• In 1983, as passenger numbers grew, a round satellite pier was added to the terminal building connected to the main terminal by the UK's first automated people mover system.
• Because of Gatwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 203 feet, planes can take off or land at Gatwick 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 Gatwick Airport (LGW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,901 miles (19,152 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Redwing Aircraft Company bought the aerodrome in 1932, and operated a flying school.