Nonstop flight route between La Rochelle / Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (LRH), La Rochelle / Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,025 miles (or 19,353 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 La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport and Kapiti Coast Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between LRH and PPQ makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport and Kapiti Coast Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between LRH and PPQ are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from La Rochelle / Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between LRH and PPQ!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (LRH):

• La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport handled 236,736 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (LRH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (meaning La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,153 miles (19,559 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport's relatively low elevation of 74 feet, planes can take off or land at La Rochelle – Île de Ré 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 La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (LRH) is Royan - Médis Aerodrome (RYN), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) SSE of LRH.
• In addition to being known as "La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport", another name for LRH is "Aéroport de La Rochelle – Ile de Ré".
• La Rochelle – Île de Ré Airport (LRH) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• In early 2007, the airport was sold by its first private owners to property developer Noel Robinson for NZ$40 million.
• The original runway dimensions were 1350 m x 45 m with an 85 m starter extension available on runway 16, nearly touching Kapiti Road, which runs past the aerodrome.
• On 6 November 1970, Douglas C-47B ZK-AXS of the Ministry of Transport was damaged beyond economic repair during a downwind simulated takeoff, when the undercarriage collapsed.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• The Kapiti Aero Club is based at the airport, along with other private fliers and charter businesses.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.