Nonstop flight route between Invercargill, New Zealand and Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Invercargill Airport (IVC), Invercargill, New Zealand and Courtenay Airpark (YCA), Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,744 miles (or 12,462 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 Invercargill Airport and Courtenay Airpark, 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 Invercargill Airport and Courtenay Airpark. 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 Invercargill Airport (IVC):

• Invercargill Airport (IVC) has 4 runways.
• The closest airport to Invercargill Airport (IVC) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) SSW of IVC.
• Although only ever a backup airport during World War II, military operations have remained rare due to Christchurch being chosen as the main Operation Deep Freeze Base in 1949 and what was then Dunedin's Taieri Aerodrome acting as a departure point for shorter range aircraft heading south.
• Because of Invercargill Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Invercargill 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 Invercargill Airport (IVC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Invercargill Airport (meaning Invercargill Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,168 miles (19,582 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Invercargill Airport has had aspirations from the 1980s through to the 2000s as an international destination with proposals that have failed to get off the ground with nearby Queenstown being developed as a more direct route for jet aircraft.
• The passenger terminal facilities have developed around a striking permanent 'Festival of Britain' two-level structure built in 1963, which features a distinctive lozenge-shaped roof and fully glazed airside walls giving great views of the runway from the upper deck.
• Regular types using the airport now are, ATR 72, and Dash 8 Q-300.
• Since July 2012, Air New Zealand has used Invercargill as a technical stop when conditions in Queenstown restrict aircraft from taking off with sufficient fuel to fly direct to Australia due to weather or operational reasons.
• Invercargill Airport handled 27,092 passengers last year.

Facts about Courtenay Airpark (YCA):

• Courtenay Airpark (YCA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Courtenay Airpark (YCA) is CFB Comox (YQQ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) ENE of YCA.
• In addition to being known as "Courtenay Airpark", another name for YCA is "CAH3".
• Because of Courtenay Airpark's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Courtenay Airpark 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 Courtenay Airpark (YCA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,680 miles (17,188 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.