Nonstop flight route between Timaru, New Zealand and Lukla, Nepal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU), Timaru, New Zealand and Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,275 miles (or 11,708 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 Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) and Tenzing-Hillary 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 Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) and Tenzing-Hillary 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 Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU):

• Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 40 miles (64 kilometers) NE of TIU.
• Because of Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport)'s relatively low elevation of 89 feet, planes can take off or land at Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru 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 furthest airport from Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (TIU) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) (meaning Richard Pearse Airport (Timaru Airport) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,365 miles (19,899 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.

Facts about Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA):

• Aircraft can only use runway 06 for landings and runway 24 for takeoffs.There is no prospect of a successful go-around on short final due to the terrain.
• The furthest airport from Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Phaplu Airport (PPL), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of LUA.
• The apron has four stands and there is one helipad located 140 m from the control tower.
• In addition to being known as "Tenzing-Hillary Airport", another name for LUA is "तेन्जिङ हिलारी विमानस्थल".
• Because of Tenzing-Hillary Airport's high elevation of 9,383 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LUA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LUA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport's paved asphalt runway is only accessible to helicopters and small, fixed-wing, short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Dornier Do 228, and Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter.
• The airport is popular because Lukla is the place where most people start the climb to Mount Everest Base Camp.