Nonstop flight route between Mangere, New Zealand and Lompoc, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Auckland Airport (AKL), Mangere, New Zealand and Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG), Lompoc, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,463 miles (or 10,402 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 Auckland Airport and Vandenberg Air Force Base, 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 Auckland Airport and Vandenberg Air Force Base. 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 Auckland Airport (AKL):

• Auckland Airport decided that rather than building a new sub-top level to stream arriving passengers, they would build a new departures floor for passengers to "drop down" into the existing gate lounges on the first floor, which would be closed off from a central arrivals corridor by glass.
• Auckland Airport (AKL) has 2 runways.
• Because of Auckland Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Auckland 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.
• Auckland Airport handled 14,829,393 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Auckland Airport (AKL) is Málaga Airport (AGP), which is nearly antipodal to Auckland Airport (meaning Auckland Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Málaga Airport), and is located 12,391 miles (19,942 kilometers) away in Málaga, Spain.
• AIAL appears on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and Australian Stock Exchange.
• In 2013, the domestic terminal will undergo a series of upgrades costing a total of $30 million.
• The site of the airport was first used as an airfield by the Auckland Aero Club.
• The closest airport to Auckland Airport (AKL) is Ardmore Airport (AMZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) E of AKL.

Facts about Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG):

• Construction of the Army camp began in September 1941.
• From August 1950 to February 1953, Camp Cooke served as a training installation for units slated for combat in Korea, and as a summer training base for many other reserve units.
• In addition to being known as "Vandenberg Air Force Base", another name for VBG is "Vandenberg AFB".
• General Cooke was a cavalry officer whose military career spanned almost half a century, beginning with his graduation from West Point in 1827 to his retirement in 1873.
• The furthest airport from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• 9th Space Operations Squadron
• Joint Functional Component Command for Space
• The closest airport to Vandenberg Air Force Base (VBG) is Lompoc Airport (LPC), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) SE of VBG.