Nonstop flight route between Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chatham Islands (CHT), Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,437 miles (or 18,405 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 Chatham Islands and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Chatham Islands and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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 Chatham Islands (CHT):

• The furthest airport from Chatham Islands (CHT) is Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), which is nearly antipodal to Chatham Islands (meaning Chatham Islands is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport), and is located 12,410 miles (19,972 kilometers) away in Montpellier, France.
• Air Chathams operate services to Auckland, to Christchurch, and to Wellington operating Convair 580 aircraft, on the following days.
• In addition to being known as "Chatham Islands", another name for CHT is "Tuuta Airport".
• In 2012 The New Zealand Government announced plans to develop the airport as part of an overall Economic Plan for the Chatham Islands.
• Chatham Islands (CHT) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Chatham Islands (CHT) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is located 448 miles (722 kilometers) WNW of CHT.
• Because of Chatham Islands's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Chatham Islands 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.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
• During the Second World War, the facilities were used by the military.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• By the late 1970s, the terminal was handling in the region of three million passengers a year, a million of them on domestic routes.
• The new tower was officially opened on 7 December 2012.
• Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• According to the plan a new Sofia airport terminal was built to the east of the old terminal and a second runway was constructed alongside the existing one.
• The new tower is an extremely important facility for both ATC and the airport because it is related to the safety and security of flights, explained by the transport department.