Nonstop flight route between Christchurch, New Zealand and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand and London City Airport (LCY), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,782 miles (or 18,961 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 London City 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 London City 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):

• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• Christchurch Airport recently underwent an extensive expansion project.
• A drop off and pick up lane is available on the ground floor of the multi-level carpark building.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In early 2009 work on the new terminal commenced.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about London City Airport (LCY):

• The closest airport to London City Airport (LCY) is London Biggin Hill Airport (BQH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) S of LCY.
• Placing a commercial airport into congested airspace ) was a challenge for the National Air Traffic Services.
• The airport was first proposed in 1981 by Reg Ward, who was Chief Executive of the newly formed London Docklands Development Corporation that was responsible for the regeneration of the area.
• Due to the airport's proximity to Central London, it has stringent rules imposed to limit the noise impact from aircraft operations.
• London City Airport (LCY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of London City Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at London City 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.
• Corporate aircraft such as the Beechcraft Super King Air, Cessna CitationJet series, Hawker 400, Hawker 800, Piaggio Avanti and variants of the Dassault Falcon business jets are increasingly common.
• The furthest airport from London City Airport (LCY) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,881 miles (19,121 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In 1990 the airport handled 230,000 passengers, but the figures fell drastically after the Gulf War and did not recover until 1993, when 245,000 passengers were carried.
• Passenger numbers at London City Airport saw rapid growth between 2003 and 2008, doubling from around 1.5 million per year to over 3 million during that period.
• London City Airport handled 3,379,753 passengers last year.