How long is the flight from MEL to ZQN?

About 3 h 20 min gate to gate, estimated from the distance. Real times depend on winds and the routing.

What is the time difference between Melbourne and Queenstown?

Queenstown is 2 h ahead of Melbourne.

How much EU261 compensation is a delay on MEL–ZQN worth?

Neither EU261 nor UK261 applies: the route neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK.

How much CO2 does a flight from MEL to ZQN emit?

About 270 kg CO2e per economy passenger one way, including the extra warming effect of flying high (160 kg without it), using the UK government's 2026 conversion factors.

AirportMiles

Melbourne (MEL) – Queenstown (ZQN)

Flights on Google Skyscanner

Distance, flight time and the airlines that fly it, from open data.

Distance: 2,151 km; 1,337 mi · 1,161 nm
Flight time: 3 h 20 min; Estimate from distance
Time difference: 2 h
CO2 per passenger: 270 kg; One way, economy, incl. RF (160 kg CO2 only)
Passengers / year: 282,311; Jul 2025 – Jun 2026 · +4.0%
Flights / week: —; Not in this source
Seats filled: —
Airlines nonstop: —; Not named in this source

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

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

The way there

Heading from MEL: 120°
Heading from ZQN: 284°
Halfway point: -41.97, 156.11
Great-circle km: 2,147 km (sphere, for EU261)
Clocks: Queenstown is 2 h ahead of Melbourne

The estimate for a route without real times is 3 h 20 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.

Passengers per month, both directions (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026)Busiest: January 2026: 33,218 passengers

Show as a table

Month	Passengers
Jul 2025	26,638
Aug 2025	26,979
Sep 2025	23,218
Oct 2025	19,734
Nov 2025	20,187
Dec 2025	29,949
Jan 2026	33,218
Feb 2026	21,402
Mar 2026	23,330
Apr 2026	27,635
May 2026	13,997
Jun 2026	16,024

Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)

Measured by great-circle distance: 2,147 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 Queenstown

	ZQN
MEL	2,151
MEB	2,143
MBW	2,114
AVV	2,159

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

More routes from MEL

Route	To	Distance	Passengers / year
MEL → SYD	Sydney, Australia	706 km	8,091,178
MEL → BNE	Brisbane, Australia	1,379 km	3,691,322
MEL → ADL	Adelaide, Australia	642 km	2,409,362
MEL → OOL	Gold Coast, Australia	1,328 km	2,216,157
MEL → PER	Perth, Australia	2,706 km	2,113,102
MEL → SIN	Singapore, Singapore	6,024 km	1,739,044
MEL → HBA	Hobart, Australia	617 km	1,457,845
MEL → DPS	Denpasar, Indonesia	4,376 km	1,146,291
MEL → AKL	Auckland, New Zealand	2,643 km	1,091,173
MEL → CBR	Canberra, Australia	470 km	967,607

More routes from ZQN

Route	To	Distance	Passengers / year
ZQN → SYD	Sydney, Australia	1,941 km	490,181
ZQN → BNE	Brisbane, Australia	2,400 km	195,030
ZQN → OOL	Gold Coast, Australia	2,306 km	66,475

Questions

Melbourne (MEL) and Queenstown (ZQN) are 2,151 km (1,337 miles, 1,161 nautical miles) apart, measured along the shortest path over the earth's surface.