Nonstop flight route between Clayton, New Mexico, United States and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO), Clayton, New Mexico, United States and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,638 miles (or 12,293 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 Clayton Municipal Airpark and Christchurch International 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 Clayton Municipal Airpark and Christchurch International 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 Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO):

• The closest airport to Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO) is Dalhart Municipal Airport (DHT), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) SE of CAO.
• Because of Clayton Municipal Airpark's high elevation of 4,970 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at CAO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make CAO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,024 miles (17,741 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Clayton Municipal Airpark (CAO) has 2 runways.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch International 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 closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• Since the closure of Wigram Air Force Base, the Royal New Zealand Air Force always flies to Christchurch International Airport when required to visit the city.
• China Southern Airlines has stated it intends to start a Guangzhou to Christchurch service in the future.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Development of the aerodrome at Harewood commenced in 1936.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.
• Christchurch airport will be the winter base for the next 20 years for the NASA's SOFIA Space telescope which is fitted inside a 1977 Boeing 747SP.