Nonstop flight route between Maseru, Lesotho and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU), Maseru, Lesotho and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,279 miles (or 10,106 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 Moshoeshoe I International Airport and Essendon 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 Moshoeshoe I International Airport and Essendon 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 Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU):

• Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,801 miles (18,991 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
• Because of Moshoeshoe I International Airport's high elevation of 5,348 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MSU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MSU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Moshoeshoe I International Airport (MSU) is Mafeteng Airport (MFC), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) SW of MSU.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• On 31 January 1945, a heavily-modified Stinson Model A registered VH-UYY and named Tokana, operated by Australian National Airways, departed from Essendon Airport for the daily flight to Kerang.
• Because of Essendon Airport's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Essendon 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.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• International flights departed mainly from Sydney during Essendon's years of operation, and there were regular daily flights between the two largest metropolitan areas in Australia.
• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• The furthest airport from Essendon Airport (MEB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Essendon Airport (meaning Essendon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.