Nonstop flight route between Bilbao, Spain and Thames, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain and Thames Aerodrome (TMZ), Thames, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,005 miles (or 19,320 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 Bilbao Airport and Thames Aerodrome, 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 Bilbao Airport and Thames Aerodrome. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between BIO and TMZ makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Bilbao Airport and Thames Aerodrome would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between BIO and TMZ are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Bilbao, Spain and Thames, New Zealand by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between BIO and TMZ!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• On 19 February 1985, an Iberia flight from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz, all passengers and crew died.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.
• The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• Bilbao Airport is a public airport located 9 km north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay.
• In February 2009 plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.

Facts about Thames Aerodrome (TMZ):

• Thames Aerodrome (TMZ) has 2 runways.
• Because of Thames Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Thames Aerodrome 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.
• The furthest airport from Thames Aerodrome (TMZ) is Málaga Airport (AGP), which is nearly antipodal to Thames Aerodrome (meaning Thames Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Málaga Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Málaga, Spain.
• The closest airport to Thames Aerodrome (TMZ) is Coromandel Aerodrome (CMV), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) N of TMZ.