SYD → MELSydney to Melbourne

live

Direct flights from Sydney (SYD) to Melbourne (MEL): 500 nonstop departures observed each week across 3 airlines. 76% of the last 29 tracked flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. The median arrival is 4 minutes early. 2 of the 33 tracked flights were cancelled. The nonstop covers 705 km, an estimated 1 hour 24 minutes in the air. Measured by Pro Flight Search from live flight boards at Sydney and Melbourne. Updated 1 November 2026 at 16:38 UTC.

Today, SYD → MEL

Mon 2 Nov · local times
  1. 06:00 JQ501Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  2. 06:00 QF401Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  3. 06:00 VA800Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  4. 06:30 JQ503Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  5. 07:00 JQ505Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  6. 07:00 QF409Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  7. 07:00 VA808Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  8. 07:15 VA810Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  9. 07:25 QF413Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  10. 07:30 VA812Virgin Australia Cancelled ·
  11. 07:45 QF415Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  12. 08:00 VA816Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  13. 08:30 QF421Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  14. 08:30 VA820Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  15. 09:00 VA824Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  16. 09:15 JQ509Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  17. 09:30 VA826Virgin Australia Cancelled ·
  18. 09:35 JQ511Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  19. 09:35 QF429Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  20. 10:00 VA830Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  21. 10:05 QF433Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  22. 10:30 QF435Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  23. 10:30 VA832Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  24. 10:50 JQ513Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  25. 11:00 VA834Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  26. 11:05 QF437Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  27. 12:00 QF441Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  28. 12:00 VA838Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  29. 12:30 QF443Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  30. 12:35 JQ515Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  31. 13:00 QF445Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  32. 13:00 VA842Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  33. 13:15 JQ517Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  34. 13:30 QF447Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  35. 14:00 QF449Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  36. 14:00 VA846Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  37. 14:30 JQ519Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  38. 15:00 QF1515Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  39. 15:00 VA850Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  40. 15:15 JQ521Jetstar On scheduleT2 ·
  41. 15:40 QF459Qantas On scheduleT3 ·
  42. 16:00 VA858Virgin Australia On scheduleT2 ·
  43. 16:15 QF461Qantas Sched 16:15Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  44. 16:25 JQ525Jetstar Sched 16:25Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  45. 16:30 QF465Qantas Sched 16:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  46. 16:30 VA862Virgin Australia Sched 16:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  47. 17:00 JQ527Jetstar Sched 17:00Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  48. 17:00 VA866Virgin Australia Sched 17:00Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  49. 17:20 QF471Qantas Sched 17:20Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  50. 17:30 JQ529Jetstar Sched 17:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  51. 17:30 VA870Virgin Australia Sched 17:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  52. 17:35 QF473Qantas Sched 17:35Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  53. 18:00 JQ531Jetstar Sched 18:00Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  54. 18:00 VA874Virgin Australia Sched 18:00Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  55. 18:05 QF477Qantas Sched 18:05Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  56. 18:15 VA876Virgin Australia Sched 18:15Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  57. 18:30 QF481Qantas Sched 18:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  58. 18:30 VA878Virgin Australia Sched 18:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  59. 19:00 VA882Virgin Australia Sched 19:00Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  60. 19:40 QF1517Qantas Sched 19:40Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  61. 21:30 VA898Virgin Australia Sched 21:30Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  62. 21:55 JQ539Jetstar Sched 21:55Departure not confirmed by the board ·
  63. 22:00 QF499Qantas Sched 22:00Departure not confirmed by the board ·

Checked SYD board 03:38 · MEL board 22:18

SYD Sydney smooth · +0
MEL Melbourne smooth · +0
705 km · ~1h 24m est.
dep bank 06:00–22:00500x weekly
Runs mixed · 3 airlines · 500x weekly · nonstop
76% on time

of the last 29 tracked SYD → MEL flights arrived within 15 minutes

Median arrival delay is −4 min. 2 of 33 tracked legs cancelled in the sample. Will a delayed flight be cancelled? →

Median arrival−4 minacross the last 27 arrivals
Flight time~1h 24mestimated from route distance
Weekly departures500x3 direct airlines on the leg
Cancelled6.1%recent route rate · 2 of 33

The week

scheduled departures · origin local time
06121824
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Jetstar AirwaysQantas AirwaysVirgin Australia

Each mark is a scheduled departure at its origin-local time, observed operating in the last 7 days. Today is highlighted.

Who flies it

observed on the boards · 7 days
Jetstar AirwaysJQ86% on time

Flights JQ501 06:00 daily · JQ503 06:30 Mo Th Fr · JQ505 07:00 daily · JQ507 varies Mo Th Fr Sa Su

Qantas AirwaysQF100% on time

Flights QF401 06:00 daily · QF409 07:00 daily · QF413 07:25 daily · QF415 07:40 Mo Tu We Th Fr

Virgin AustraliaVA40% on time

Flights VA800 06:00 daily · VA804 06:30 Mo Tu We Th Fr · VA806 06:45 Mo Fr · VA808 07:00 daily

History

operated legs · board outcomes
11-02VA812cancelledCNX
11-02VA826cancelledCNX
11-01JQ519arrived+61
11-01JQ521arrived−9
11-01JQ525dep +0 → arr−14
11-01JQ527dep +0 → arr−13
11-01JQ529dep +5 → arr−6
11-01JQ531dep +0 → arr−14
11-01JQ533dep +0 → arr−14
11-01JQ539departed+0
11-01QF1515arrived+0
11-01QF1517dep +0 → arr+1
11-01QF459arrived−9
11-01QF461dep +0 → arr−4
11-01QF465dep +0 → arr−2
11-01QF471dep +10 → arr+8
11-01QF473dep +0 → arr−8
11-01QF475dep +0 → arr−9
11-01QF477dep +0 → arr−4
11-01QF479dep +0 → arr−11
11-01QF481dep +0 → arr−15
11-01QF483dep +0 → arr−7
11-01QF497departed+0
11-01QF499departed+0
11-01VA850arrived+2
11-01VA858dep +40 → arr+38
11-01VA862dep +10 → arr+4
11-01VA866dep +20 → arr+8
11-01VA870dep +50 → arr+35
11-01VA874dep +40 → arr+27
11-01VA878dep +15 → arr+7
11-01VA882dep +70 → arr+70
11-01VA898departed−5

Actual board outcomes rather than schedules, paired departure and arrival per flight and day.

Full board history, day by day →

Airports right now

live boards
SYDSydney +0 min smooth 🌤 scattered clouds · E 5 kt Full SYD delay board →
MELMelbourne +0 min smooth 🌤 clear · N 5 kt Full MEL delay board →

Weather lens

Conditions are tightest at MEL: a 41% chance of a 15+ minute delay. In this weather, the more delayed of the two airports is typically about +9 min. Both figures come from the two airports' delay records in similar weather. See live delays → · Weather risk by airport →

How the Sydney to Melbourne route actually runs

Pro Flight Search records official board updates for nonstop SYD to MEL flights through the day: schedules, estimates, gate pushes and actual departures. The verdict above comes from operated flights, so it reflects what this route does rather than what the timetable promises.

Planning around a delay? Live airport delays · Weather delay risk map · Will a delayed flight be cancelled? · Do planes make up time in the air? · How we measure

Cite this data

Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.

Suggested citation

Pro Flight Search: Sydney (SYD) to Melbourne (MEL) route reliability, measured from operated flights on official airport boards.

Canonical URL
https://proflightsearch.com/search-flights/SYD-MEL
How we measure this →

SYD to MEL questions

Is SYD–MEL running on time right now?

Smooth skies ahead. Both endpoints currently score the same, route health score 100/100. The airports section above carries the live status and delay window at both ends.

Morning or evening flight on SYD–MEL?

Operators schedule morning departures around 06:00 and evening departures around 17:00 from SYD. Earlier flights typically land before destination-airport delays accumulate later in the day; check the MEL delay card to confirm conditions when you'd arrive.

How long is the flight from SYD to MEL?

Great-circle distance is 705 km. With typical jet cruise speed plus taxi, climb and descent, expect roughly 80–90 min gate-to-gate on this route.

How often does SYD–MEL fly?

3 carriers operate this route, around 500 flights a week between them. Compare carrier days and times in the airline list above.