Nonstop flight route between Matamata, New Zealand and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Matamata Airport (MTA), Matamata, New Zealand and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,046 miles (or 19,386 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 Matamata Airport and Bilbao 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 Matamata Airport and Bilbao Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between MTA and BIO makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Matamata Airport and Bilbao 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 MTA and BIO are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Matamata, New Zealand and Bilbao, Spain 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 MTA and BIO!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Matamata Airport (MTA):

• The furthest airport from Matamata Airport (MTA) is Córdoba Airport (ODB), which is nearly antipodal to Matamata Airport (meaning Matamata Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Córdoba Airport), and is located 12,404 miles (19,962 kilometers) away in Córdoba, Spain.
• The closest airport to Matamata Airport (MTA) is Hamilton International Airport (HLZ), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) WSW of MTA.

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• Between 1964 and 1965, an instrumental ILS landing system and a meteorological radio for storm detection were installed.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• There has been some criticism of Santiago Calatrava's design by Aena, the Spanish airport authority, because it seems difficult to make further enlargements in the terminal's capacity because the design is too closed.
• Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.