Nonstop flight route between Waterford, Ireland and Stewart Island, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,013 miles (or 19,333 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 Waterford Airport and Ryan's Creek 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 Waterford Airport and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between WAT and SZS makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Waterford Airport and Ryan's Creek 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 WAT and SZS are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Waterford, Ireland and Stewart Island, 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 WAT and SZS!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Waterford Airport (WAT):

• Flybe has indicated that the services to Waterford will be in place until at least 2014.
• On 13 March 2007 a €27.5 million upgrade of Waterford Airport was announced.
• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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.
• On 10 January 2008 Aer Arann announced the return of the summer routes to Bordeaux, Faro, Málaga with a new service to Amsterdam.
• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".
• The closest airport to Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
• In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek 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.