Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gweru, Zimbabwe:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), Gweru, Zimbabwe would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,662 miles (or 10,722 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base, 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base. 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):

• The Melbourne–Sydney air route is the third most-travelled passenger air route in the world and the third busiest in the Asia Pacific region.
• In 2003, Melbourne received the International Air Transport Association Eagle Award for service and two National Tourism Awards for tourism services.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• In late 1989, Federal Airports Corporation Inspector A.
• The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
• Terminal 3 – opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal, but is now owned by Melbourne Airport.
• 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.
• 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.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".

Facts about Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE):

• Because of Gweru-Thornhill Air Base's high elevation of 4,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GWE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GWE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Masvingo Airport (MVZ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) ESE of GWE.
• The furthest airport from Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (meaning Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.