Nonstop flight route between Meridian, Mississippi, United States and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI), Meridian, Mississippi, United States and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,115 miles (or 13,060 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 Key Field Air National Guard Base 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 Key Field Air National Guard Base 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 Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI):

• Air Rescue and Firefighting capabilities at the airfield are provided by the Air National Guard.
• In addition to being known as "Key Field Air National Guard Base", another name for MEI is "Key Field ANGB".
• The furthest airport from Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,055 miles (17,792 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI) is Hesler-Noble Field (LUL), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) SSW of MEI.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• The old domestic terminal has been completely demolished to make way for the new terminal.
• Runway 11/29 will be widened and extended 244m west into the nearby golf course and a RESA will be added to each end to make it comply with ICAO standards.
• 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 airport will be the winter base for the next 20 years for the NASA's SOFIA Space telescope which is fitted inside a 1977 Boeing 747SP.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.