Nonstop flight route between Christchurch, New Zealand and Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CHC to MDY:
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- About this route
- CHC Airport Information
- MDY Airport Information
- Facts about CHC
- Facts about MDY
- Map of Nearest Airports to CHC
- List of Nearest Airports to CHC
- Map of Furthest Airports from CHC
- List of Furthest Airports from CHC
- Map of Nearest Airports to MDY
- List of Nearest Airports to MDY
- Map of Furthest Airports from MDY
- List of Furthest Airports from MDY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand and Henderson Field (MDY), Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,994 miles (or 8,038 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 Henderson Field, 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 Henderson Field. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CHC / NZCH |
Airport Name: | Christchurch International Airport |
Location: | Christchurch, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°29'21"S by 172°31'55"E |
Area Served: | Christchurch |
Operator/Owner: | Christchurch City Council (75%) NZ Government (25%) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 123 feet (37 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from CHC |
More Information: | CHC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MDY / PMDY |
Airport Name: | Henderson Field |
Location: | Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 28°12'5"N by 177°22'53"W |
Area Served: | Midway Atoll |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Dept. of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 18 feet (5 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MDY |
More Information: | MDY Maps & Info |
Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):
- Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
- Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
- 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.
- A number of different taxi and shuttle companies operate services from the airport terminals.
- The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
- 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.
- The old domestic terminal has been completely demolished to make way for the new terminal.
- 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 prevailing wind in Christchurch is from the north-east and to a lesser extent from the south-west, but the city is also affected by Canterbury's Nor'wester foehn wind.
- There are several general aviation organisations operating from the airport.
- 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.
Facts about Henderson Field (MDY):
- The closest airport to Henderson Field (MDY) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 937 miles (1,508 kilometers) SE of MDY.
- Because of Henderson Field's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Henderson Field 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.
- Henderson Field is an uncontrolled airport.
- Henderson Field (MDY) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Henderson Field (MDY) is Lüderitz Airport (LUD), which is located 11,656 miles (18,759 kilometers) away in Luderitz, Namibia.
- After transition from the U.S.