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):

• 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.
• Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
• Terminal 3 – opened with the airport as the Ansett Australia terminal, but is now owned by Melbourne Airport.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• 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.
• Widening of the main north–south runway by 15 m was completed over a 29-day period in May 2005, enabling the operation of the Airbus A380.
• Melbourne Airport was originally called Tullamarine Airport, after the adjacent suburb of the same name.
• 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.

Facts about Tampa International Airport (TPA):

• 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.
• Tampa International Airport (TPA) has 3 runways.
• The United States Army Air Corps began negotiating for the use Drew Field in 1939 during the buildup of military forces prior to World War II.
• Tampa International Airport covers an area of 3,300 acres at an elevation of 26 feet above mean sea level.
• 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.
• Today, TPA Airport handles about 16.6 million passengers per year) and improvements currently in progress will increase capacity to 25-million passengers a year.
• Today an overnight aircraft hardstand and an automated baggage sorting facility for Airside A sit on the former site.
• 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.
• Both Delta Air Lines and US Airways opened maintenance bases at the airport.