Nonstop flight route between Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Tampa International Airport (TPA), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,636 miles (or 15,508 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 Tampa International 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 Tampa International 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):

• 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.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• 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.
• A$330 million expansion programme for Terminal 2 was announced in 2007.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• Construction works were undertaken to prepare the airport for the arrival of the double-decker Airbus A380.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• 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 search for a replacement for Essendon commenced in February 1958, when a panel was appointed to assess Melbourne's civil aviation needs.
• 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 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.
• Melbourne Airport was originally called Tullamarine Airport, after the adjacent suburb of the same name.

Facts about Tampa International Airport (TPA):

• In 1928 the city completed the 160-acre Drew Field six miles west of Downtown Tampa.
• The airport's people mover system was the first such system in the world.
• Because of Tampa International Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Tampa International 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 Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) SE of TPA.
• The original TPA airsides were designed in the mid-1960s as four identical facilities.
• Tampa International Airport (TPA) has 3 runways.
• Phase I of the economy parking garage was completed in November 2005.
• During the following decades, the airport was expanded to handle more traffic and additional airlines.
• The furthest airport from Tampa International Airport (TPA) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,435 miles (18,403 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.