Nonstop flight route between Luqa, Malta and Wellington, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malta International Airport (MLA), Luqa, Malta and Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,312 miles (or 18,205 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 Malta International Airport and Wellington 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 Malta International Airport and Wellington 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 Malta International Airport (MLA):

• In addition to being known as "Malta International Airport", other names for MLA include "Luqa Airport" and "Valletta Airport".
• Until the construction of the new air terminal was completed, the Government embarked on a further upgrade of the old air terminal.
• Shops at the airport include news kiosk, florist and tax-free outlets, Food and Beverage outlets.
• This refurbishment was not enough as it still lacked certain essential facilities.
• Air traffic constantly increased and new airlines with larger aircraft started operations.
• The first civil airfield was constructed at Ta' Qali, followed by others at Ħal Far and Luqa.
• Malta International Airport (MLA) has 2 runways.
• The Malta Airport MetOffice is part of the Malta International Airport and provides the function of a national meteorological service for Malta.
• Because of Malta International Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Malta 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.
• The furthest airport from Malta International Airport (MLA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,639 miles (18,731 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• There was a small increase in the volume of traffic that passed through Malta International Airport in 2011.
• Malta International Airport handled 405,200 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Malta International Airport (MLA) is Xewkija / Gozo Heliport (GZM), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NW of MLA.

Facts about Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Wellington has a reputation for sometimes rough and turbulent landings, even in larger aircraft, due to the channelling effect of Cook Strait creating strong and gusty winds, especially in pre frontal north westerly conditions.
• At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.
• Because of Wellington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Wellington 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.
• Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• Wellington will be spending $40 million expanding its south west pier at the domestic terminal to cope with increased passengers numbers work is expected to be finished in 2015.
• The furthest airport from Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wellington International Airport (meaning Wellington International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,966 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• In April 2006, Air New Zealand and Qantas announced that they proposed to enter into a codeshare agreement, arguing that it would be necessary in order to reduce empty seats and financial losses on trans-Tasman routes.
• The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific.