Nonstop flight route between Hamilton, New Zealand and Daocheng, Sichuan, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hamilton International Airport (HLZ), Hamilton, New Zealand and Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY), Daocheng, Sichuan, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,717 miles (or 10,810 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 Hamilton International Airport and Daocheng Yading 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 Hamilton International Airport and Daocheng Yading 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 Hamilton International Airport (HLZ):

• As the world prepared for war, it became clear that a landing strip needed to be constructed in the Hamilton area.
• The closest airport to Hamilton International Airport (HLZ) is Matamata Airport (MTA), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) ENE of HLZ.
• The Waikato Aero Club has been based at Hamilton Airport since 1933.
• The furthest airport from Hamilton International Airport (HLZ) is Córdoba Airport (ODB), which is nearly antipodal to Hamilton International Airport (meaning Hamilton International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Córdoba Airport), and is located 12,427 miles (20,000 kilometers) away in Córdoba, Spain.
• In August 2011, approval was received by Hamilton International Airport to extend its runway up to 3,000 metres - the same size as secondary airports in other parts of the world, such as the Gold Coast.
• Hamilton International Airport (HLZ) has 4 runways.
• A NZ$15.3 million terminal expansion begun in 2005 featured a 60 percent increase in floorspace with improved baggage handling areas, better international and domestic check-in space, and passenger security screening.
• Because of Hamilton International Airport's relatively low elevation of 172 feet, planes can take off or land at Hamilton 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.

Facts about Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY):

• The airport was opened with a single scheduled flight between Daocheng and Chengdu, and flights to Chongqing and Barkam are expected to begin before 1 October 2013.
• Because of Daocheng Yading Airport's high elevation of 14,472 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DCY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DCY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is Dêqên Shangri-La Airport (DIG), which is located 108 miles (174 kilometers) SSW of DCY.
• In addition to being known as "Daocheng Yading Airport", other names for DCY include "稻城亚丁机场", "Dàochéng Yàdīng Jīchǎng" and "ZUDC".
• The furthest airport from Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is La Florida Airport (LSC), which is located 11,910 miles (19,167 kilometers) away in La Serena, Chile.
• Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Daocheng Yading Airport has a single runway that is 4,200 m long and 45 m wide.