Nonstop flight route between Milford Sound, New Zealand and West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Milford Sound Airport (MFN), Milford Sound, New Zealand and Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE), West Columbia (near Columbia), South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,783 miles (or 14,136 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 Milford Sound Airport and Columbia Metropolitan 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 Milford Sound Airport and Columbia Metropolitan 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 Milford Sound Airport (MFN):

• Post war pilot Fred ‘Popeye’ Lucas was the next to land an aircraft in Milford.
• Weather permitting, there is substantial daily charter traffic of light aircraft to and from Queenstown, Wanaka and Te Anau and on sightseeing trips.
• Milford Sound Airport is a small but very busy airport in Milford Sound, in New Zealands Fiordland region of the South Island.
• Because of Milford Sound Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Milford Sound 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 Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) ESE of MFN.
• The furthest airport from Milford Sound Airport (MFN) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Milford Sound Airport (meaning Milford Sound Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,230 miles (19,682 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Milford Sound Airport (MFN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE):

• Because of Columbia Metropolitan Airport's relatively low elevation of 236 feet, planes can take off or land at Columbia Metropolitan 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.
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport handled 1,027,699 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,508 miles (18,520 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is Jim Hamilton - L.B. Owens Airport (CUB), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) ENE of CAE.
• In August 1996, the UPS-owned cargo airline opened an $80 million southeastern regional hub at the airport, one of six regional hubs throughout the United States.
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) has 2 runways.
• The airport is a hub for UPS Airlines and was a hub for Air South, a former low-cost carrier.
• Passenger service is provided by five scheduled airlines, with commercial cargo service being handled by three scheduled airlines and numerous air freight operators.
• One of the earliest units to train at Columbia AAB was the 17th Bombardment Group, which arrived on 9 February 1942.