Nonstop flight route between Blenheim, New Zealand and Bordeaux / Mérignac, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Woodbourne Airport (BHE), Blenheim, New Zealand and Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), Bordeaux / Mérignac, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,081 miles (or 19,442 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 Woodbourne Airport and Bordeaux-Mérignac 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 Woodbourne Airport and Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between BHE and BOD makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Woodbourne Airport and Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport 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 BHE and BOD are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Blenheim, New Zealand and Bordeaux / Mérignac, France 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 BHE and BOD!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Woodbourne Airport (BHE):

• Because of Woodbourne Airport's relatively low elevation of 109 feet, planes can take off or land at Woodbourne 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 terminal building is scheduled for major renovation in 2014 to cope with growing passenger demand.
• The closest airport to Woodbourne Airport (BHE) is Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (NSN), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) WNW of BHE.
• The furthest airport from Woodbourne Airport (BHE) is Bragança Airport (BGC), which is nearly antipodal to Woodbourne Airport (meaning Woodbourne Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bragança Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Bragança, Portugal.
• Woodbourne Airport (BHE) has 3 runways.

Facts about Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD):

• In addition to being known as "Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport", another name for BOD is "Aéroport de Bordeaux-Mérignac".
• The closest airport to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) is La Teste-de-Buch Airport (XAC), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SW of BOD.
• After the war Air France resumed commercial operations out of Mérignac and the re-established French Air Force returned to use the facility.
• The furthest airport from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (meaning Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,215 miles (19,658 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD) has 2 runways.
• During the early years of the Cold War, Bordeaux-Mérignac was a front-line NATO facility for the United States Air Forces in Europe.
• Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport handled 457,435 passengers last year.
• Because of Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Bordeaux-Mérignac 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.