Nonstop flight route between Christchurch, New Zealand and Portland, Maine, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand and Portland International Jetport (PWM), Portland, Maine, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,370 miles (or 15,080 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 Portland International Jetport, 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 Portland International Jetport. 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):

• 5,592,529 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
• The size of the new integrated terminal at Christchurch Airport is 77,591m².
• 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 closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• Development of the aerodrome at Harewood commenced in 1936.
• A number of different taxi and shuttle companies operate services from the airport terminals.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• 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.
• There are several general aviation organisations operating from the airport.

Facts about Portland International Jetport (PWM):

• Jet flights began in 1968, and for the first time Portland got a nonstop beyond Boston when Northeast DC-9s flew to La Guardia.
• Portland International Jetport (PWM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Portland International Jetport (PWM) is Naval Air Station Brunswick (NHZ), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) NE of PWM.
• In 2004 Runway 11/29 was lengthened to 7,200 feet.
• In 1982 PWM got its first nonstop beyond New York, when Delta tried a 727 to Cincinnati for a year or so.
• The furthest airport from Portland International Jetport (PWM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,705 miles (18,838 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• 1986 also brought US Airways, who began flights to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
• Because of Portland International Jetport's relatively low elevation of 76 feet, planes can take off or land at Portland International Jetport 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.
• After Independence Air went bankrupt Portland had no low-cost carrier, causing fares to go up, and passenger numbers to decline.