Nonstop flight route between Salinas, California, United States and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS), Salinas, California, United States and Melbourne Airport (MEL), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,866 miles (or 12,659 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 Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base 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 Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base 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 Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS):

• The closest airport to Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) is Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WSW of SNS.
• Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) has 3 runways.
• The move of the Army Air Forces Night Fighter School to Hammer Field, California dictated the move of the 360th Fighter Group to Santa Maria AAF in January 1944.
• The furthest airport from Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base (SNS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,387 miles (18,326 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The 71st Observation Group replaced the 69th in December 1941, moving in from Third Air Force at Birmingham Airport, Alabama.
• Because of Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base's relatively low elevation of 85 feet, planes can take off or land at Salinas Municipal AirportSalinas Army Air Base 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.
• Until 1962 United Airlines had one Convair each way a day, but when they left no one replaced them and SNS has rarely appeared in the Airline Guide since.

Facts about Melbourne Airport (MEL):

• The closest airport to Melbourne Airport (MEL) is Essendon Airport (MEB), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of MEL.
• In addition to being known as "Melbourne Airport", another name for MEL is "Tullamarine Airport".
• The international terminal contains works by noted Australian Indigenous artists including Daisy Jugadai Napaltjarri and Gloria Petyarre.
• 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 Southern Freighter Apron has five dedicated freighter parking positions which host 21 dedicated freighter operations a week.
• 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.
• 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 handled 2,998,000 passengers last year.
• In 2003, Melbourne received the International Air Transport Association Eagle Award for service and two National Tourism Awards for tourism services.
• 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 (MEL) has 2 runways.