Nonstop flight route between Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand and Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chatham Islands (CHT), Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand and Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM), Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Kingdom of the Netherlands would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,229 miles (or 13,243 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 Princess Juliana International 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 Chatham Islands and Princess Juliana International Airport. 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 airport was completed in 1982 to replace an earlier built compacted grass airstrip at Te Hapupu that could only handle slow flying Safe Air Bristol Freighter aircraft.
• In 2012 The New Zealand Government announced plans to develop the airport as part of an overall Economic Plan for the Chatham Islands.
• The closest airport to Chatham Islands (CHT) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is located 448 miles (722 kilometers) WNW of CHT.
• A small aviation museum is also based there, signifying the importance that aviation has played in developing the economic wealth of the island group.
• 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.
• 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.
• Chatham Islands (CHT) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Chatham Islands", another name for CHT is "Tuuta Airport".

Facts about Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM):

• Although the airport is as close to the beach as it is, there have only been 2 major accidents.
• Despite the reputed difficulties in approach, there have been no records of major incidents at the airport, although ALM Flight 980 crashed 30 miles from St.
• To accommodate the growing international and local traffic of private aircraft, PJIA has a Fixed Base Operator building, offering office space and private lounges with dedicated customs.
• Because of Princess Juliana International Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Princess Juliana 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 Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is L'Espérance Airport Grand Case Airport (CCE), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of SXM.
• Phase II included the construction of a radar facility and a new air traffic control tower, the construction of a new and more modern, 27,000 square metres, terminal, capable of handling 2.5 million passengers per year, and the construction of a Runway End Safety Area of 150 metres, including a 60 metres overrun, on both ends of its runway, to comply with ICAO rules.
• The furthest airport from Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is Karratha Airport (KTA), which is nearly antipodal to Princess Juliana International Airport (meaning Princess Juliana International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Karratha Airport), and is located 12,252 miles (19,718 kilometers) away in Karratha / Dampier, Western Australia, Australia.
• Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) currently has only 1 runway.