Nonstop flight route between Chengdu, Sichuan, China and Stewart Island, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), Chengdu, Sichuan, China and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,675 miles (or 10,742 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 Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome, 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 Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Ryan's Creek Aerodrome. 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 Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU):

• The furthest airport from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is nearly antipodal to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (meaning Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from La Florida Airport), and is located 12,144 miles (19,543 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• The closest airport to Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) is Mianyang Nanjiao Airport (MIG), which is located 75 miles (121 kilometers) NE of CTU.
• During World War II, the airport was known as Shwangliu Airfield and was later used by the United States Army Air Forces Fourteenth Air Force as part of the China Defensive Campaign.
• When China Southwest Airlines existed, its headquarters were on the airport property.
• In addition to being known as "Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport", other names for CTU include "成都双流国际机场" and "Chéngdū Shuāngliú Guójì Jīchǎng".
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) has 2 runways.
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport handled 31,500,000 passengers last year.
• On May 12, 2008 the airport was temporarily shut down after sustaining some minor damages from the great Sichuan Earthquake but was quickly reopened the following day after inspection of the runway.
• A large-scale expansion was conducted on flight area and navigation area from 1994 to 2001.

Facts about Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• The aerodrome was built in the late 1970s to accommodate Stewart Island Air Services.
• The airport is at an elevation of 288 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.
• In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.