Nonstop flight route between Madrid, Spain and Whangarei, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain and Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,093 miles (or 19,461 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Whangarei Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between MAD and WRE makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Whangarei 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 MAD and WRE are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Madrid, Spain and Whangarei, 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 MAD and WRE!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD):

• On 27 January 2012, Spanair suspended all flights affecting Madrid-Barajas as well as other domestic and international connections.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is nearly antipodal to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (meaning Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Palmerston North Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
• The Madrid–Barcelona air shuttle service, known as the "Puente Aéreo", literally called "Air Bridge", is the second busiest air route in Europe after İstanbul Atatürk and İzmir, with the highest number of flight operations in 2012.
• Originally, the flight field was a large circle bordered in white with the name of Madrid in its interior, unpaved, consisting of land covered with natural grass.
• The new terminals and runways were completed in 2004, but administrative delays and equipment, as well as the controversy over the redeployment of terminals, delayed service until 5 February 2006.
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] handled 39,729,027 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Madrid–Torrejón Airport (TOJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of MAD.
• Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are adjacent terminals that are home to SkyTeam and Star Alliance airlines, as well as Air Europa.
• In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
• Barajas was voted "Best Airport" in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards.

Facts about Whangarei Airport (WRE):

• The closest airport to Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.
• Ansett went into liquidation in 2001, and this resulted in Air New Zealand's subsidary Eagle Airways being the only major airline operating out of the airport.
• There are also several private aircraft hangars situated around the airport, including one that previously housed a Aero L-29 Delfín jet in 2008.
• Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• This upgrade allowed Air New Zealand, through its subsidary airline Air Nelson, start trialing flights with their new Bombardier Q300 aircraft.
• 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.
• The 1970s saw an increase in domestic travel from Whangarei, so a new airport terminal was built on the northern side of the main runway to cater for this.
• 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.
• Whangarei has several scheduled flight destinations, the furthest away being Wellington at 626 km.