Nonstop flight route between Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad between 1924 and 1991) and Whangarei, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pulkovo Airport (LED), Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad between 1924 and 1991) and Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,136 miles (or 16,312 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 Pulkovo Airport and Whangarei 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 Pulkovo Airport and Whangarei 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 Pulkovo Airport (LED):

• Originally it was named Shosseynaya Airport, by the name of a nearby railroad station.
• In addition to being known as "Pulkovo Airport", another name for LED is "Аэропо́рт Пу́лково".
• Because of Pulkovo Airport's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Pulkovo 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 Pulkovo Airport (LED) is Rzhevka Airport (RVH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NE of LED.
• Pulkovo Airport (LED) has 2 runways.
• For a more comprehensive list, see Aviation Safety Network Entry for LED.
• The furthest airport from Pulkovo Airport (LED) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,868 miles (17,491 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Pulkovo Airport handled 12,854,366 passengers last year.
• The field's IATA code of "LED" derives from the city's previous name, Leningrad.

Facts about Whangarei Airport (WRE):

• In 2007, Sunair begun daily air services between Whangarei, Tauranga, Rotorua and Napier.
• On 22 November 2005, a PAC Fletcher top dressing plane en route to Whangarei Airport crashed 5km west of Whangarei in the Pukenui Forest due to loss of the vertical stabiliser.
• Because of Whangarei Airport's relatively low elevation of 133 feet, planes can take off or land at Whangarei 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 WDC predicts a high growth rate in aircraft movements over the next 15 years, potentially reaching 45,500 aircraft movements by 2027.
• Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• The Whangarei District Council approved an upgrade of the main runway and this was completed in April 2009.
• The closest airport to Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.
• Whangarei has several scheduled flight destinations, the furthest away being Wellington at 626 km.
• The first aerodrome in Whangarei was located on Pohe Island, in the upper reaches of Whangarei harbour.
• The airport has a modern air-conditioned terminal building with free wifi and a cafeteria, which services Air New Zealand's subsidiaries, Eagle Airways and Air Nelson.
• In 2009, airport passenger numbers were increasing steadily, with flight numbers increasing also, reaching a peak of 10 return flights to Auckland and 2 return flights to Wellington on weekdays.
• The furthest airport from Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Whangarei Airport (meaning Whangarei Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.