Nonstop flight route between Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hilton Head Airport (HHH), Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,324 miles (or 13,397 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 Hilton Head 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 Hilton Head 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 Hilton Head Airport (HHH):

• Hilton Head Airport covers an area of 131 acres at an elevation of 19 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Hilton Head Airport (HHH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,516 miles (18,532 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Hilton Head Airport (HHH) is Beaufort County Airport (BFT), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) NNE of HHH.
• Because of Hilton Head Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Hilton Head 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 addition to being known as "Hilton Head Airport", another name for HHH is "HXD".
• Hilton Head Airport (HHH) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
• Re-development proposals involve closing 11/29, with a parallel grass runway as the only crosswind runway.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• The Kapiti Aero Club is based at the airport, along with other private fliers and charter businesses.
• 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.
• 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.