Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Smith Field (SMD), Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,794 miles (or 15,761 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 Smith 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 Smith 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):

• 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 addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• 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.
• The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
• The Southern Freighter Apron has five dedicated freighter parking positions which host 21 dedicated freighter operations a week.
• 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.
• Since privatisation, further improvements to infrastructure have begun at the airport, including expansion of runways, car parks and terminals.
• The airport is 23 km from the city centre.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Terminal 1 hosts domestic services for Qantas Group airlines, Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink and is located to the northern end of the building.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• 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.

Facts about Smith Field (SMD):

• The United States government’s pioneering of a national airmail system begun in 1918, provided essential subsidies for America’s fledgling airline industry.
• The closest airport to Smith Field (SMD) is Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) S of SMD.
• The furthest airport from Smith Field (SMD) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,224 miles (18,064 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 2010 Runway 5/23 was rebuilt.
• Smith Field (SMD) has 4 runways.
• The old Baer Field, now renamed Smith Field, would remain Fort Wayne’s civil airport through World War II, and has since served general aviation.
• Because of Smith Field's relatively low elevation of 835 feet, planes can take off or land at Smith 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.