Nonstop flight route between Fresno, California, United States and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), Fresno, California, United States and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,770 miles (or 10,896 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT):

• Fresno completed 2007 with 1.382 million passengers traveling through Fresno Yosemite International Airport, an increase of 3.13% over 2006.
• The most prominent airlines at Fresno are Skywest Airlines for United Express and Delta Connection, Mesa Airlines for US Airways Express, American Airlines, and Horizon Air.
• A US$30 million construction project is under way to widen, lengthen and strengthen secondary runway 11R/29L with scheduled completion in October 2012.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport handled 569,879 passengers last year.
• United Airlines was a major player at the airport for many years, operating Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-300 and Douglas DC-8 jets.
• Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) has 2 runways.
• Fresno has been headquarters for at least two airlines.
• The furthest airport from Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• The closest airport to Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is Fresno Chandler Executive AirportChandler Municipal Airport (Old) (FCH), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of FAT.
• Because of Fresno Yosemite International Airport's relatively low elevation of 336 feet, planes can take off or land at Fresno Yosemite 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.
• Fresno is the largest city in the continental United States not served by Southwest Airlines.
• Trans World Airlines and United Airlines flights to San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles moved from Chandler Field to Fresno Air Terminal in 1947.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• On 24 October 2011, Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, commenced flights between Auckland and Paraparaumu.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.
• Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
• On 17 February 2008, above an adjacent hardware store, Placemakers, there was a triple-fatality mid-air collision between a Cessna 152 and a helicopter, both of which plummeted from approximately 1500 ft, the helicopter into the store and the plane into a nearby street.
• New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority has recently approved the airport after identifying approach obstruction issues.
• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.