Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gillespie Field (SEE), San Diego / El Cajon, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,959 miles (or 12,809 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 Gillespie Field, 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 Gillespie Field. 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 November 2007 Essendon Airport released its latest master plan.
• 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 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.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Gillespie Field (SEE):

• Because of Gillespie Field's relatively low elevation of 388 feet, planes can take off or land at Gillespie Field 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 Gillespie Field (SEE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,534 miles (18,562 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Gillespie Field (SEE) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Gillespie Field (SEE) is Montgomery Field (MYF), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) W of SEE.
• Gillespie is the home of the restoration facility Gillespie Field Annex for the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
• In 1946 the airfield was turned over to San Diego County and became a general aviation facility.