Nonstop flight route between Christchurch, New Zealand and St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CHC to SMV:
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- About this route
- CHC Airport Information
- SMV Airport Information
- Facts about CHC
- Facts about SMV
- 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 SMV
- List of Nearest Airports to SMV
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMV
- List of Furthest Airports from SMV
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand and Samedan Airport (SMV), St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,565 miles (or 18,613 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 Samedan 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 Samedan Airport. 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: | SMV / LSZS |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland |
GPS Coordinates: | 46°32'2"N by 9°53'2"E |
Area Served: | St. Moritz, Switzerland |
Airport Type: | Public and military |
Elevation: | 5600 feet (1,707 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMV |
More Information: | SMV Maps & Info |
Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):
- Christchurch International Airport is the main airport that serves Christchurch, New Zealand.
- 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.
- Runway 11/29 will be widened and extended 244m west into the nearby golf course and a RESA will be added to each end to make it comply with ICAO standards.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
- Christchurch Airport consists of a single terminal which caters for both domestic and international flights.
- Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
Facts about Samedan Airport (SMV):
- The furthest airport from Samedan Airport (SMV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Samedan Airport (meaning Samedan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,075 miles (19,433 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Samedan Airport (SMV) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Samedan Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SMV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SMV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- In addition to being known as "Samedan Airport", another name for SMV is "Flughafen Engadin".
- The closest airport to Samedan Airport (SMV) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SW of SMV.
- At an elevation of 1,707 metres, it is one of the highest airports in Europe.