Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,500 miles (or 2,414 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 relatively short distance between Melbourne Airport and Christchurch International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• In 2003, Melbourne received the International Air Transport Association Eagle Award for service and two National Tourism Awards for tourism services.
• 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 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.
• In 1988, the Australian Government formed the Federal Airports Corporation, placing Melbourne Airport under the operational control of the new corporation along with 21 other airports around the nation.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• The airport is 23 km from the city centre.
• 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 addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Terminal 3 – opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal, but is now owned by Melbourne Airport.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
• 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 Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• The old domestic terminal has been completely demolished to make way for the new terminal.
• The size of the new integrated terminal at Christchurch Airport is 77,591m².
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• China Southern Airlines has stated it intends to start a Guangzhou to Christchurch service in the future.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Christchurch airport will be the winter base for the next 20 years for the NASA's SOFIA Space telescope which is fitted inside a 1977 Boeing 747SP.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.
• Christchurch Airport recently underwent an extensive expansion project.
• Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch 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.
• Due to increasing passenger numbers, the airport has completed construction on a new Domestic terminal upgrade costing $237 million.