Nonstop flight route between Morgantown, West Virginia, United States and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Morgantown Municipal Airport (MGW), Morgantown, West Virginia, United States and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,616 miles (or 13,866 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 Morgantown Municipal 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 Morgantown Municipal Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Morgantown Municipal Airport (MGW):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 10,239 passenger boardings in calendar year 2012, a decrease of 4.1% from the 10,674 enplanements in 2011 and 12.7% from the peak enplanements of 11,727 in 2009.
• In addition to being known as "Morgantown Municipal Airport", another name for MGW is "Walter L. Bill Hart Field".
• The airport covers an area of 638 acres at an elevation of 1,248 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Morgantown Municipal Airport (MGW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,518 miles (18,537 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Morgantown Municipal Airport (MGW) is Greene County Airport (WAY), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NNW of MGW.
• Morgantown Municipal Airport (MGW) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• 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.
• On 24 October 2011, Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, commenced flights between Auckland and Paraparaumu.
• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• Interest in providing commercial flights at Paraparaumu reignited because the Kapiti coast is one of New Zealand's fastest growing regional centres.
• Constructed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in July 1939 using equipment from Whenuapai, Paraparaumu was made available as an "Emergency Airport" by the government.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of 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.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.