Nonstop flight route between Chiang Rai, Thailand and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI), Chiang Rai, Thailand and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,380 miles (or 10,268 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 Chiang Rai International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Chiang Rai International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI):

• The closest airport to Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) is Tachilek Airport (THL), which is located 37 miles (59 kilometers) N of CEI.
• In addition to being known as "Chiang Rai International Airport", another name for CEI is "ท่าอากาศยานแม่ฟ้าหลวง เชียงราย".
• The airport handles over 800,000 passengers, 5,800 aircraft movements and 3,700 tons of cargo.
• The airport's IATA code is CEI and economical flights are made several times daily to Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi which is a regional hub airport with daily flights to every major city in the world.
• Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is located about 10 km from the city centre.
• Chiang Rai International Airport handled 1,053,863 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Chiang Rai International Airport (CEI) is Maria Reiche Neuman Airport (NZC), which is located 11,947 miles (19,227 kilometers) away in Nazca, Ica Region, Peru.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• On 24 October 2011, Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, commenced flights between Auckland and Paraparaumu.