Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Drake Bay, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Drake Bay Airport (DRK), Drake Bay, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,822 miles (or 14,197 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 Drake 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 Drake 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):

• 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.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• In 2003, Melbourne received the International Air Transport Association Eagle Award for service and two National Tourism Awards for tourism services.
• Widening of the main north–south runway by 15 m was completed over a 29-day period in May 2005, enabling the operation of the Airbus A380.
• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• Terminal 1 hosts domestic services for Qantas Group airlines, Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink and is located to the northern end of the building.

Facts about Drake Bay Airport (DRK):

• Drake Bay Airport (DRK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Drake Bay Airport (meaning Drake Bay Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,196 miles (19,627 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Drake Bay Airport (DRK) is Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ), which is located only 20 miles (31 kilometers) NE of DRK.
• Because of Drake Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Drake 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.