Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,269 miles (or 18,135 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
• On 20 June 1980, the Royal Australian Air Force presented a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in commemoration of its role.
• Because of Royal Air Force Station Gatow's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 airfield is now called General-Steinhoff Kaserne.
• After the Berlin Blockade, RAF Gatow served as an airfield for the British Army's Berlin Infantry Brigade, and was prepared to revert to its role as a supply base, if another Berlin Airlift to West Berlin ever became necessary.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,694 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Late April 1945, towards the end of World War II in Europe, the airfield was occupied by the advancing Red Army.
• The closest airport to Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of GWW.
• Known for most of its operational life as Royal Air Force Station Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, this former British Royal Air Force airfield is in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Constructed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in July 1939 using equipment from Whenuapai, Paraparaumu was made available as an "Emergency Airport" by the government.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• 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.
• New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority has recently approved the airport after identifying approach obstruction issues.
• 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.
• This re-development was spurred by interest from Air New Zealand to operate Q300 aircraft.