Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and RAF Leuchars (ADX), St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,473 miles (or 16,854 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 Melbourne Airport and RAF Leuchars, 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 Melbourne Airport and RAF Leuchars. 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Although described as a satellite terminal, the terminal building is connected by an above-ground corridor to Terminal 2.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• The furthest airport from Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Melbourne Airport (meaning Melbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,613 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• In 1959 the Commonwealth Government acquired 5,300 ha of grassland in then-rural Tullamarine.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Because of Melbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 434 feet, planes can take off or land at Melbourne 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.

Facts about RAF Leuchars (ADX):

• The closest airport to RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Dundee Airport (DND), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NW of ADX.
• A third Panavia Tornado F3 Squadron, No.
• The unit was formally named 'Royal Air Force Leuchars' in March 1920, but nevertheless retained its strong naval links.
• As the Navy embraced the value of aviation, the aircraft carrier was added to its inventory.
• On 18 July 2011 Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Leuchars would close, whilst RAF Lossiemouth in Moray would be spared as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
• The Phantoms of 43 Squadron and 111 Squadron were replaced by Tornado F3s during 1989-1990s.
• The furthest airport from RAF Leuchars (ADX) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,678 miles (18,793 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.