Nonstop flight route between Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Wanaka, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from DSM to WKA:
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- About this route
- DSM Airport Information
- WKA Airport Information
- Facts about DSM
- Facts about WKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to DSM
- List of Nearest Airports to DSM
- Map of Furthest Airports from DSM
- List of Furthest Airports from DSM
- Map of Nearest Airports to WKA
- List of Nearest Airports to WKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from WKA
- List of Furthest Airports from WKA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States and Wanaka Airport (WKA), Wanaka, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,440 miles (or 13,583 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 Des Moines International Airport and Wanaka 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 Des Moines International Airport and Wanaka Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | DSM / KDSM |
Airport Name: | Des Moines International Airport |
Location: | Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°32'2"N by 93°39'47"W |
Area Served: | Des Moines, Iowa |
Operator/Owner: | City of Des Moines |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 958 feet (292 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from DSM |
More Information: | DSM Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WKA / NZWF |
Airport Name: | Wanaka Airport |
Location: | Wanaka, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 44°43'20"S by 169°14'44"E |
Operator/Owner: | Wanaka Town Board and Management Committee |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1142 feet (348 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WKA |
More Information: | WKA Maps & Info |
Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):
- As of March 2014, Delta Air Lines handled of DSM passengers, followed by United Airlines, American Airlines, US Airways, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Airlines, and Frontier Airlines.
- The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines 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.
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
- This airport is in in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.
- On March 13, 2008, an Atlanta-bound ASA flight was delayed more than five hours when a mouse was discovered shortly before take-off from DSM.
- During the 1920s the Des Moines area had several small private airports for general aviation and airmail.
- In 2012, the airport had 1,038,484 enplanementsFederal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 919,990 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 853,596 in 2009 and 932,828 in 2011.
- The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
Facts about Wanaka Airport (WKA):
- Wanaka Airport (WKA) currently has only 1 runway.
- At the moment the runway's PCN value is too low to cope with heavier aircraft, along with restrictions on the passenger capacity of aircraft due to the limited airport facilities, however larger aircraft can operate into the airport, usually on charter services.
- The closest airport to Wanaka Airport (WKA) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) SW of WKA.
- The furthest airport from Wanaka Airport (WKA) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Wanaka Airport (meaning Wanaka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,283 miles (19,768 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- The lack of a VHF omnidirectional range beacon at the airport poses an issue for some aircraft.