AirportMiles

Melbourne (MEL) – Sydney (SYD)

Flights on GoogleSkyscanner
Distance, flight time and the airlines that fly it, from open data.
Distance
706 km
439 mi · 381 nm
Flight time
1 h 40 min
Estimate from distance
Time difference
none
CO2 per passenger
89 kg
One way, economy, incl. RF (52 kg CO2 only)
Passengers / year
8,091,178
May 2025 – Apr 2026 · +0.5%
Flights / week
1,050
Both directions, average
Seats filled
85%
9,565,326 seats a year
Airlines nonstop
—
Not named in this source

Traffic: BITRE (Australia), domestic airline activity by city pair, May 2025 – Apr 2026. BITRE reports cities, not airports: the Melbourne figures can include Avalon (AVV). Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources

Great circle from MEL to SYDMELSYD
Shortest path over the earth's surface (great circle). Real flights bend around weather, winds and airspace.

The way there

Heading from MEL
56°
Heading from SYD
232°
Halfway point
-35.85, 148.08
Great-circle km
706 km (sphere, for EU261)
Clocks
Same time in both

The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 40 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.

Passengers per month, both directions (May 2025 – Apr 2026)Busiest: October 2025: 741,565 passengers
0500K1MMayJunJulAugSepOct741.6KNovDecJanFebMarApr
Show as a table
Month Passengers
May 2025667,503
Jun 2025614,999
Jul 2025681,592
Aug 2025684,904
Sep 2025655,101
Oct 2025741,565
Nov 2025703,840
Dec 2025674,539
Jan 2026640,750
Feb 2026639,839
Mar 2026726,963
Apr 2026659,583
Flights per month, both directions (May 2025 – Apr 2026)Busiest: October 2025: 4,880 flights
02K4K6KMayJunJulAugSepOct4.9KNovDecJanFebMarApr
Show as a table
Month Flights
May 20254,719
Jun 20254,434
Jul 20254,687
Aug 20254,616
Sep 20254,698
Oct 20254,880
Nov 20254,494
Dec 20254,396
Jan 20264,178
Feb 20264,225
Mar 20264,743
Apr 20264,550

Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)

Measured by great-circle distance: 706 km.

Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).

Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.

Every airport pair between Melbourne and Sydney

SYD
MEL706
MEB705
MBW707
AVV756

Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Melbourne airports

More routes from MEL

Route Distance Passengers / year
MEL → BNE1,379 km 3,691,322
MEL → ADL642 km 2,409,362
MEL → OOL1,328 km 2,216,157
MEL → PER2,706 km 2,113,102
MEL → SIN6,024 km 1,739,044
MEL → HBA617 km 1,457,845
MEL → DPS4,376 km 1,146,291
MEL → AKL2,643 km 1,091,173
MEL → CBR470 km 967,607
MEL → LST476 km 896,661

More routes from SYD

Route Distance Passengers / year
SYD → BNE751 km 4,431,416
SYD → OOL678 km 2,609,754
SYD → ADL1,166 km 1,900,844
SYD → SIN6,288 km 1,758,167
SYD → PER3,284 km 1,742,359
SYD → AKL2,164 km 1,321,410
SYD → HKG7,372 km 1,065,358
SYD → CNS1,967 km 916,051
SYD → DPS4,620 km 846,035
SYD → HBA1,037 km 841,310

Questions

Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD) are 706 km (439 miles, 381 nautical miles) apart, measured along the shortest path over the earth's surface.