Nonstop flight route between Canton Island, Kiribati and Queenstown, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from CIS to ZQN:
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- About this route
- CIS Airport Information
- ZQN Airport Information
- Facts about CIS
- Facts about ZQN
- Map of Nearest Airports to CIS
- List of Nearest Airports to CIS
- Map of Furthest Airports from CIS
- List of Furthest Airports from CIS
- Map of Nearest Airports to ZQN
- List of Nearest Airports to ZQN
- Map of Furthest Airports from ZQN
- List of Furthest Airports from ZQN
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Canton Island Airport (CIS), Canton Island, Kiribati and Queenstown Airport (ZQN), Queenstown, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,152 miles (or 5,072 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 Canton Island Airport and Queenstown 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 Canton Island Airport and Queenstown Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CIS / PCIS |
Airport Name: | Canton Island Airport |
Location: | Canton Island, Kiribati |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°46'9"S by 171°42'19"W |
Elevation: | 9 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from CIS |
More Information: | CIS Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ZQN / NZQN |
Airport Name: | Queenstown Airport |
Location: | Queenstown, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 45°1'15"S by 168°44'21"E |
Operator/Owner: | Queenstown Airport Corporation Ltd. |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1171 feet (357 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ZQN |
More Information: | ZQN Maps & Info |
Facts about Canton Island Airport (CIS):
- Kanton Island airport continued to see use during the 1950s as a trans-Pacific stopover for DC-4, DC-6B and DC-7C aircraft for Pan American, British Commonwealth Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Pacific Airlines, but with the advent of long-range jet aircraft during the 1960s, their need for the island faded, and the airfield and its associated facilities were ultimately abandoned in 1965.
- The furthest airport from Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Malabo International Airport (SSG), which is nearly antipodal to Canton Island Airport (meaning Canton Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Malabo International Airport), and is located 12,363 miles (19,896 kilometers) away in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
- The airport was used as a military airfield during World War II by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 and 1943, initially being used by the 40th Ferrying Squadron, Ferrying Command as an airfield for moving combat aircraft to forward combat units.
- Though Kanton Island was never physically invaded by Japanese forces, the airfield was bombarded on 1 November 1943 by the Japanese submarine I-36.
- The closest airport to Canton Island Airport (CIS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is located 741 miles (1,193 kilometers) WSW of CIS.
- Canton Island Airport (CIS) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Canton Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Canton Island 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 political status of the island was uncertain at first, with American and British settlers occupying two separate camps on the island.
Facts about Queenstown Airport (ZQN):
- On 22 June 2010, a late-running Pacific Blue flight to Sydney took off from Queenstown.
- In July 2011 newly installed runway lights were turned on for the first time.
- Queenstown Airport (ZQN) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is Wanaka Airport (WKA), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of ZQN.
- The furthest airport from Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Queenstown Airport (meaning Queenstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.