Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM), Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,494 miles (or 5,623 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II), 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 Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II). 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 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.
• In 1959 the Commonwealth Government acquired 5,300 ha of grassland in then-rural Tullamarine.
• Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
• 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 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.
• Terminal 2 handles all international flights out of Melbourne Airport and the city and opened with the airport in 1970.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• On 1 July 1970, Melbourne Airport was opened to international operations by Prime Minister John Gorton, ending Essendon's near 2-decade run as Melbourne International Airport.
• 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.

Facts about Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM):

• The furthest airport from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) is Benito Salas Airport (NVA), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (meaning Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Benito Salas Airport), and is located 12,433 miles (20,009 kilometers) away in Neiva, Colombia.
• Between the development undertaken is an extension of the runway along the 300 meters x 60 meters to 3,000 meters x 60 meters, construction vehicle parking area of 20,000 meters which can accommodate 1,000 vehicles as well as the construction of a three-floor passenger terminal covering 13,000 square meters which can accommodate 1,250 passengers, equipped aerobridges and cargo terminals, and other support buildings covering an area of 1900 square meters.
• In addition to being known as "Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II)", another name for PLM is "Bandar Udara Internasional Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (SMB II)".
• On September 24, 1975, Garuda Indonesia Flight 150 crashed on approach to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport.
• Because of Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II)'s relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) 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.
• When South Sumatra Province was chosen as the host of PON XVI in 2004, the government soughts to enlarge the capacity of the airport as well as change the status into an international airport.
• At least as early as 1938, Palembang was served by a civil airport at Talang Betutu, operating as a Customs Aerodrome equipped with wireless and direction finding equipment, and basic ground facilities.
• Effective 1 April 1991, the airport is officially managed by the Management of Perum Angkasa Pura II.
• Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport (SMB II) (PLM) is Sultan Thaha Airport (DJB), which is located 114 miles (183 kilometers) NW of PLM.