Nonstop flight route between Kaikoura, New Zealand and Thorne Bay, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), Kaikoura, New Zealand and Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB), Thorne Bay, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,474 miles (or 12,028 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 Kaikoura Aerodrome and Thorne Bay Seaplane Base, 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 Kaikoura Aerodrome and Thorne Bay Seaplane Base. 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 Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ):

• The closest airport to Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ) is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), which is located 64 miles (103 kilometers) NNE of KBZ.
• Because of Kaikoura Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Kaikoura Aerodrome 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.
• Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ) has 2 runways.
• Kaikoura Aerodrome is an uncontrolled aerodrome located 4 nautical miles southwest of Kaikoura on the South Island of New Zealand.
• Air Kaikoura is another scenic operator based at the aerodrome since 1983.
• The furthest airport from Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ) is León Airport (LEN), which is nearly antipodal to Kaikoura Aerodrome (meaning Kaikoura Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from León Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in León, Spain.

Facts about Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB):

• Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB) is Hollis Clark Bay Seaplane Base (HYL), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) SSW of KTB.
• The furthest airport from Thorne Bay Seaplane Base (KTB) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,618 miles (17,088 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• Because of Thorne Bay Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Thorne Bay Seaplane Base 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.
• Thorne Bay Seaplane Base is a state-owned public-use seaplane base serving Thorne Bay, a community in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area of the U.S.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,640 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 2,283 enplanements in 2009, and 2,608 in 2010.