Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ), Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,858 miles (or 9,428 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 Shigatse Peace 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 Shigatse Peace 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):

• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• In late 1989, Federal Airports Corporation Inspector A.
• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• Melbourne Airport was originally called Tullamarine Airport, after the adjacent suburb of the same name.
• The airport is 23 km from the city centre.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• The Southern Freighter Apron has five dedicated freighter parking positions which host 21 dedicated freighter operations a week.

Facts about Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ):

• The closest airport to Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA), which is located 97 miles (156 kilometers) E of RKZ.
• In addition to being known as "Shigatse Peace Airport", other names for RKZ include "日喀则和平机场" and "Rìkāzé Hépíng Jīchǎng".
• Because of Shigatse Peace Airport's high elevation of 12,408 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Shigatse Peace Airport (RKZ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,297 miles (18,181 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.