Nonstop flight route between Hokitika, New Zealand and Des Moines, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hokitika Airport (HKK), Hokitika, New Zealand and Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Des Moines, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,296 miles (or 13,351 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 Hokitika Airport and Des Moines 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 Hokitika Airport and Des Moines 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 Hokitika Airport (HKK):

• NAC inaugurated its Christchurch-Hokitika Friendship service on 20 December 1968.
• The grass surfaces and susceptibility to flooding of Hokitika’s Southside airfield were always problematic.
• Hokitika Airport (HKK) has 2 runways.
• Air Travel Ltd was the first airline in New Zealand to fly scheduled air services.
• The furthest airport from Hokitika Airport (HKK) is Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hokitika Airport (meaning Hokitika Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santiago de Compostela Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
• Because of Hokitika Airport's relatively low elevation of 146 feet, planes can take off or land at Hokitika 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 Hokitika Airport (HKK) is Greymouth Airport (GMN), which is located 20 miles (33 kilometers) NNE of HKK.

Facts about Des Moines International Airport (DSM):

• On December 1, 2007, a United Express plane carrying 44 passengers slid off a taxiway while taxiing to the runway for takeoff.
• Interior renovation work began in 2009 on the airport and concluded in 2010.
• In addition to work inside the passenger terminal, the airport is building a rental car facility and new parking facilities.
• Because of Des Moines International Airport's relatively low elevation of 958 feet, planes can take off or land at Des Moines 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 airport was originally governed by the City of Des Moines' Parks Department.
• The furthest airport from Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,789 miles (17,363 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 2012, the airport had 1,038,484 enplanementsFederal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 919,990 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 853,596 in 2009 and 932,828 in 2011.
• The closest airport to Des Moines International Airport (DSM) is Ankeny Regional Airport (IKV), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) NNE of DSM.
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM) has 2 runways.
• On March 13, 2008, an Atlanta-bound ASA flight was delayed more than five hours when a mouse was discovered shortly before take-off from DSM.