Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Phoenix, Arizona, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,232 miles (or 13,248 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 Phoenix Sky Harbor 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 Phoenix Sky Harbor 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):

• Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX):

• America West filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991 and sold its larger aircraft and Japanese route authority, but continued growing its domestic operations from Terminal 4 in cooperation with Continental Airlines.
• After the war the airport began work on a new passenger terminal, as well as a new parallel runway and a diagonal runway.
• The airport's current 326-foot tall air traffic control tower began operations on January 14, 2007.
• The closest airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is Scottsdale Airport (SCF), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NNE of PHX.
• The furthest airport from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,450 miles (18,427 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Bonanza Airlines moved its headquarters from Las Vegas to Phoenix in 1966.
• British Airways provides the airport's only nonstop service to London-Heathrow, as well as the only passenger flights on a Boeing 747 involving the airport.
• The airport is the primary regional hub and gateway for Mexican and Hawaiian departures for Tempe-based US Airways and is a focus city for Southwest Airlines.
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) has 3 runways.