Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Richards Bay Airport (RCB), Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,118 miles (or 9,845 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 Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay 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):

• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• The first major upgrades at the airport were carried out at the domestic terminals, with an expansion of the Ansett domestic terminal approved in 1989 and completed in 1991, adding a second pier added for use by smaller regional airlines.
• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• 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.
• Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
• The airport is 23 km from the city centre.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Before the opening of Melbourne Airport, Melbourne's main airport was Essendon Airport which was officially designated an international airport in 1950.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB):

• Because of Richards Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hluhluwe Airport (HLW), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) NNE of RCB.
• Richards Bay Airport (RCB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Richards Bay Airport (RCB) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,689 miles (18,812 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.