Nonstop flight route between Riverton, Wyoming, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Riverton Regional Airport (RIW), Riverton, Wyoming, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,685 miles (or 13,976 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 Riverton Regional 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 Riverton Regional 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 Riverton Regional Airport (RIW):

• The closest airport to Riverton Regional Airport (RIW) is Hunt Field (LND), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SW of RIW.
• The furthest airport from Riverton Regional Airport (RIW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,758 miles (17,313 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 17,035 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 14,186 enplanements in 2009, and 14,361 in 2010.
• Riverton Regional Airport (RIW) has 2 runways.
• Because of Riverton Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,528 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIW. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIW a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

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 1959 the Commonwealth Government acquired 5,300 ha of grassland in then-rural Tullamarine.
• 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.
• Opened with Melbourne Airport in 1970 for Trans Australia Airlines, the terminal passed to Qantas in 1992 when they acquired the airline.
• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• Today, a wide range of shops and food outlets are situated at the end of the terminal near the entrance into Terminal 2.
• 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.
• Melbourne Airport handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• An expansion of the terminal was approved in 1989 and completed in 1991 when a second pier was added by Ansett to the south for use by smaller regional airline Kendell.
• Melbourne Airport (MEL) has 2 runways.