Nonstop flight route between Galway, Ireland and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Galway Airport (GWY), Galway, Ireland and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,756 miles (or 18,919 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 Galway Airport and Christchurch International 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 Galway Airport and Christchurch International 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 Galway Airport (GWY):

• Galway Airport (GWY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Galway Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Galway 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.
• In February 2012, workers at the airport staged a sit-in in protest at the risk that their redundancy payments might not materialise after the airport's bankers had seized its working capital.
• The runway was extended to 1200 metres and completed on 2 March 1987.
• Since 2008 numbers and routes have dropped considerably with only Aer Arann routes to Luton, Lorient, Manchester and Edinburgh remaining.
• The furthest airport from Galway Airport (GWY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,976 miles (19,273 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Galway Airport", another name for GWY is "Aerphort na Gaillimhe".
• The closest airport to Galway Airport (GWY) is Connemara Airport (NNR), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) WSW of GWY.
• In June 2011 the Government announced that funding for Galway Airport will cease by December 2011.
• In its hey-day, these were the busiest routes from Galway.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• A number of different taxi and shuttle companies operate services from the airport terminals.
• 5,592,529 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch 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 furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• In early 2009 work on the new terminal commenced.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.