Nonstop flight route between Christchurch, New Zealand and Pau, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand and Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF), Pau, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,083 miles (or 19,446 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 Pau Pyrénées 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 Pau Pyrénées Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between CHC and PUF makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Christchurch International Airport and Pau Pyrénées Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between CHC and PUF are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Christchurch, New Zealand and Pau, France by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between CHC and PUF!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• Christchurch Airport consists of a single terminal which caters for both domestic and international flights.
• 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.
• 5,592,529 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• In early 2009 work on the new terminal commenced.
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.

Facts about Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF):

• Because of Pau Pyrénées Airport's relatively low elevation of 616 feet, planes can take off or land at Pau Pyrénées 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 Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF) is Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) ESE of PUF.
• Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Pau Pyrénées Airport (meaning Pau Pyrénées Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,236 miles (19,692 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Pau Pyrénées Airport", another name for PUF is "Aéroport Pau Pyrénées".