Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Selma, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Craig Field (SEM), Selma, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,518 miles (or 15,317 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 Craig Field, 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 Craig Field. 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 addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Although described as a satellite terminal, the terminal building is connected by an above-ground corridor to Terminal 2.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• 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.
• Expansion of carparks has also continued with a $40 million project commenced in 2004, doubling the size of the short term carpark with the addition of 2,500 spaces over six levels, along with 1,200 new spaces added to the 5,000 already available in the long term carpark.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• 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.

Facts about Craig Field (SEM):

• The former military family housing was sold to individual owners shortly after base closure and has seen significant decay as compared to its previous military occupants.
• Although the former USAF air traffic control tower at Craig Field remains standing, as of 2007 it was unmanned and non-operational, with UNICOM being used as a common traffic advisory frequency.
• The closest airport to Craig Field (SEM) is Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) E of SEM.
• The furthest airport from Craig Field (SEM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,157 miles (17,955 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Craig Field's relatively low elevation of 166 feet, planes can take off or land at Craig Field 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.
• Craig Field (SEM) currently has only 1 runway.