Nonstop flight route between Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,955 miles (or 16,022 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear and Christchurch International 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear and Christchurch International 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR):

• In addition to being known as "Svalbard Airport, Longyear", another name for LYR is "Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear".
• The furthest airport from Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,170 miles (16,367 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The first night landing was made on 8 December 1965.
• The runway is 2,483 metres long and aligned 10/28, equipped with instrument landing system, but there are no taxiways.
• The closest airport to Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG), which is located 534 miles (859 kilometers) SSE of LYR.
• Because of Svalbard Airport, Longyear's relatively low elevation of 94 feet, planes can take off or land at Svalbard Airport, Longyear 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.
• Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) currently has only 1 runway.
• Both Braathens SAFE and SAS applied for the concession to fly from the mainland to Norway.
• The first air strip on Svalbard was constructed in Adventdalen, near Longyearbyen, by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
• Svalbard Airport, Longyear handled 126,350 passengers last year.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• In May 2013 the airport began kicking out travellers who tried to sleep at the airport overnight, saying they should find proper accommodation, but backed down after neighbours complained people were sleeping rough outdoors.The airport has direct flights to 18 domestic and 11 international destinations.
• The size of the new integrated terminal at Christchurch Airport is 77,591m².
• With the development of Antarctic scientific expeditions, since the 1950s Christchurch Airport has been the base for all Antarctic flights operated by the United States Navy, United States Air Force, Air National Guard and Royal New Zealand Air Force as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
• Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch 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.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• Christchurch Airport recently underwent an extensive expansion project.
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• The furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.