Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Alexander Bay, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ), Alexander Bay, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,769 miles (or 10,893 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 Alexander Bay 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 Melbourne Airport and Alexander Bay 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• 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.
• 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.
• In May 1959 it was announced that a new airport would be built at Tullamarine, with Prime Minister Robert Menzies announcing on 27 November 1962 a five-year plan to provide Melbourne with a A$45 million "jetport" by 1967.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Expansion of carparks has also continued with a $40 million project commenced in 2004, doubling the size of the short term carpark with the addition of 2,500 spaces over six levels, along with 1,200 new spaces added to the 5,000 already available in the long term carpark.

Facts about Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ):

• The furthest airport from Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located 11,931 miles (19,200 kilometers) away in Hanalei, Hawaii, United States.
• Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Alexander Bay Airport (ALJ) is Kleinsee Airport (KLZ), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) SSE of ALJ.
• Because of Alexander Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 98 feet, planes can take off or land at Alexander Bay 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.