Nonstop flight route between New Plymouth, New Zealand and Ankang, Shaanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between New Plymouth Airport (NPL), New Plymouth, New Zealand and Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA), Ankang, Shaanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,481 miles (or 10,431 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 New Plymouth Airport and Ankang Wulipu 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 New Plymouth Airport and Ankang Wulipu 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 New Plymouth Airport (NPL):

• New Plymouth Airport handled 332,178 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Badajoz Airport (BJZ), which is nearly antipodal to New Plymouth Airport (meaning New Plymouth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Badajoz Airport), and is located 12,382 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Badajoz, Spain.
• The closest airport to New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) SE of NPL.
• Because of New Plymouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at New Plymouth 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.
• New Plymouth District Council has confirmed that they are designing a new terminal extension for construction in 2015.
• New Plymouth Airport (NPL) has 3 runways.
• The original airport opened in 1933 with the New Plymouth Airport Act.
• Origin Pacific Airways used to operate Jetstream J31 and Metroliner aircraft to/from Auckland and to/from Nelson 6x weekly.
• New Plymouth Airport has a control tower with services provided by Airways Corporation.

Facts about Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA):

• Because of Ankang Wulipu Airport's relatively low elevation of 860 feet, planes can take off or land at Ankang Wulipu 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 Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) is Viña del Mar Airport (KNA), which is nearly antipodal to Ankang Wulipu Airport (meaning Ankang Wulipu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Viña del Mar Airport), and is located 12,408 miles (19,968 kilometers) away in Viña del Mar, Chile.
• The airport was first built in 1938 for military use and expanded in 1945.
• Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Ankang Wulipu Airport (AKA) is Shennongjia Hongping Airport (HPG), which is located 111 miles (178 kilometers) SE of AKA.
• Civil flights first started in the 1964 but ceased in 1986.
• In addition to being known as "Ankang Wulipu Airport", other names for AKA include "安康五里铺机场" and "Ānkāng Wǔlǐpù Jīchǎng".