Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,560 miles (or 16,994 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Melbourne 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Melbourne 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):

• According to a 2008 Master Plan the departure lounge is at capacity and congested during peak operations.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
• In response, Mark Rodwell, chief executive of Prestwick Airport, told BBC Radio Scotland, that until it was proved otherwise Prestwick Airport remains the only place in the United Kingdom that Elvis Presley ever set foot.
• The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The airport was owned by Infratil, a New Zealand company and majority owner of Wellington International Airport Infratil also owned Manston Airport until November 2013.
• Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
• In physical terms, Prestwick is Scotland's largest commercial airfield, although in passenger traffic terms it sits in fourth place after Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow International, and Aberdeen Airport.
• 1992 marked the beginning of a renaissance for the struggling airport when purchased by "Canadian entrepreneur" Matthew Hudson in a "dramatic rescue".
• Scottish Aviation built a factory using the original terminal building and hangars at Prestwick, which from 1974 produced such aircraft as the Prestwick Pioneers, and later the Jetstream and Bulldog.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
• 2009 saw the unit break a new record as they were tasked to 447 call outs.

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• 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.
• Terminal 4 – originally called the Domestic Express or South Terminal – is dedicated to budget airlines and is the first facility of its kind at a conventional airport in Australia.
• 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.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• Terminal 2 handles all international flights out of Melbourne Airport and the city and opened with the airport in 1970.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of 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.
• Melbourne Airport was originally called Tullamarine Airport, after the adjacent suburb of the same name.