Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA), Cherokee, Oklahoma, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,040 miles (or 14,548 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 Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary 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 Melbourne Airport and Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary 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 Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Construction works were undertaken to prepare the airport for the arrival of the double-decker Airbus A380.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into 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.
• The first major upgrades at the airport were carried out at the domestic terminals, with an expansion of the Ansett domestic terminal approved in 1989 and completed in 1991, adding a second pier added for use by smaller regional airlines.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
• 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 Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA):

• The furthest airport from Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,816 miles (17,407 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The installation was first known as the Great Salt Plains Auxiliary Field, but was renamed Kegelman in 1949.
• Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field is located near the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, across the Great Salt Plains Lake, 20 km east of Cherokee, Oklahoma in the United States.
• The closest airport to Kegelman Air Force Auxiliary Field (CKA) is Anthony Municipal Airport (ANY), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) N of CKA.
• The field has one runway, a fire station, personnel offices and a NEXRAD tower, which is used for weather forecasting for both the military and civilian entities.