Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and León, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and León Airport (LEN), León, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,850 miles (or 17,462 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 León 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 León 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):

• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• 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.
• Terminal 4 – originally called the Domestic Express or South Terminal – is dedicated to budget airlines and is the first facility of its kind at a conventional airport in Australia.
• Terminal 2 handles all international flights out of Melbourne Airport and the city and opened with the airport in 1970.
• 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 León Airport (LEN):

• The closest airport to León Airport (LEN) is Asturias Airport (OVD), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) NNW of LEN.
• The furthest airport from León Airport (LEN) is Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), which is nearly antipodal to León Airport (meaning León Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kaikoura Aerodrome), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
• During the Spanish Civil War, the Leon aerodrome was the headquarters of numerous airborne units and at the end of the conflict it was listed as class A.
• In the 1940s an aviation school was installed in the facilities, where the first pilots graduated at the General Aviation School.
• León Airport handled 30,890 passengers last year.
• León Airport (LEN) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "León Airport", another name for LEN is "Aeropuerto de León".
• In 2003 a new Rescue and Fire Fighting Services Building was built, with its corresponding developed and landscaped area, as well as a technical block and an elevated water tank.