Nonstop flight route between Gibraltar and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gibraltar International Airport (GIB), Gibraltar and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,108 miles (or 19,486 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 Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar International Airport and Kapiti Coast Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between GIB and PPQ makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Gibraltar International Airport and Kapiti Coast Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between GIB and PPQ are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Gibraltar and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between GIB and PPQ!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Gibraltar International Airport (GIB):

• On 10 January 2012, Gibraltar was selected as one of the 'World's Scariest Airport Landings and Take-offs' in the travel section of the Daily Telegraph due to its runway which extends into the sea.
• Because of this, a new four-lane diversion road and tunnel section was planned.
• Monarch is the largest operator at Gibraltar International, operating three weekly flights to London Luton, Manchester Airport and Birmingham.
• The furthest airport from Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is nearly antipodal to Gibraltar International Airport (meaning Gibraltar International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whangarei Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Whangarei, New Zealand.
• Gibraltar International Airport handled 383,013 passengers last year.
• Because of Gibraltar International Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Gibraltar 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 Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) is Ceuta Heliport (JCU), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) S of GIB.
• In April 2009 Ándalus Líneas Aéreas restored Gibraltar's air link with the Spanish capital.
• Gibraltar International Airport (GIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Gibraltar International Airport", another name for GIB is "(North Front Airport)".
• On 18 May 2011, Bmibaby announced that it would launch flights from Gibraltar to East Midlands from 31 March 2012.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• 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.
• This re-development was spurred by interest from Air New Zealand to operate Q300 aircraft.
• Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.