Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and General Santos City, Philippines:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and General Santos International Airport (GES), General Santos City, Philippines would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,278 miles (or 5,276 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 General Santos International 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 General Santos International 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):

• An expansion of the terminal was approved in 1989 and completed in 1991 when a second pier was added by Ansett to the south for use by smaller regional airline Kendell.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• 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.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.

Facts about General Santos International Airport (GES):

• The closest airport to General Santos International Airport (GES) is Allah Valley Airport (AAV), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) NW of GES.
• Philippine Airlines Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet 2
• Philippine Airlines A340-300 Aircraft
• The furthest airport from General Santos International Airport (GES) is Itaituba Airport (ITB), which is nearly antipodal to General Santos International Airport (meaning General Santos International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Itaituba Airport), and is located 12,290 miles (19,779 kilometers) away in Itaituba, Pará, Brazil.
• Because of General Santos International Airport's relatively low elevation of 505 feet, planes can take off or land at General Santos 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.
• General Santos International Airport has a single 3,227-meter lighted runway designated as runways 17/35.
• General Santos International Airport (GES) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "General Santos International Airport", another name for GES is "Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Heneral SantosTugpahanang Pangkalibutanon sa Heneral SantosPangkalibutan nga Hulugpaan sang Heneral Santos".
• General Santos International Airport handled 611,274 passengers last year.
• Cebu Pacific, currently the country's largest low-cost carrier, finally commenced daily flights to and from Manila on October 2, 2006, initially deploying Airbus A319 aircraft.