Nonstop flight route between Christchurch, New Zealand and Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand and Darwin International Airport (DRW), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,273 miles (or 5,267 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 Christchurch International Airport and Darwin 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 Christchurch International Airport and Darwin 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 Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• Stage 1 of the new terminal, including the new check-in hall, new food/retail precinct, new single domestic security screening, and the new regional departure lounge and baggage claim of the new terminal was completed in May 2011, allowing the old international check-in and the old domestic terminal north of the main pier to be demolished to make way for Stage 2.
• 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 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.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• 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.
• With the development of Antarctic scientific expeditions, since the 1950s Christchurch Airport has been the base for all Antarctic flights operated by the United States Navy, United States Air Force, Air National Guard and Royal New Zealand Air Force as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• 5,592,529 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.

Facts about Darwin International Airport (DRW):

• Darwin International Airport handled 1,743,734 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY), which is located 11,867 miles (19,099 kilometers) away in Cayenne, French Guiana.
• Because of Darwin International Airport's relatively low elevation of 103 feet, planes can take off or land at Darwin 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.
• Darwin – Sydney route included from May 2012, prior data not shown.
• It frequently took hits from Japanese bombing through the Second World War, and was used by the Allies to project air power into the Pacific.
• The closest airport to Darwin International Airport (DRW) is Bathurst Island Airport (BRT), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) NNW of DRW.
• Darwin International Airport (DRW) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Darwin International Airport", another name for DRW is "RAAF Base Darwin".
• In April 2009 Garuda Indonesia suspended the Denpasar service from Darwin after nearly 30 years of service, citing "economic reasons".
• During 2008–09 financial year a total of 1,538,938 passengers passed through Darwin International Airport which consisted of 188,530 international passengers and 1,350,408 domestic passengers.