Nonstop flight route between New Plymouth, New Zealand and Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from NPL to MMQ:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- NPL Airport Information
- MMQ Airport Information
- Facts about NPL
- Facts about MMQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to NPL
- List of Nearest Airports to NPL
- Map of Furthest Airports from NPL
- List of Furthest Airports from NPL
- Map of Nearest Airports to MMQ
- List of Nearest Airports to MMQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from MMQ
- List of Furthest Airports from MMQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between New Plymouth Airport (NPL), New Plymouth, New Zealand and Mbala Airport (MMQ), Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,360 miles (or 13,454 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 Mbala 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 Mbala Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | NPL / NZNP |
Airport Name: | New Plymouth Airport |
Location: | New Plymouth, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°0'30"S by 174°10'45"E |
Operator/Owner: | New Plymouth District Council Government of New Zealand |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from NPL |
More Information: | NPL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MMQ / FLBA |
Airport Name: | Mbala Airport |
Location: | Mbala, Northern Province, Zambia |
GPS Coordinates: | 8°51'29"S by 31°19'59"E |
Area Served: | Mbala |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5454 feet (1,662 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MMQ |
More Information: | MMQ Maps & Info |
Facts about New Plymouth Airport (NPL):
- New Plymouth Airport handled 332,178 passengers last year.
- The airport's only sealed taxiway connects the apron and the asphalt runway, so aircraft taxi on the runway, and commence take off roll from runway ends.
- By the end of 2012 the larger ATR 72 aircraft will provide a service to Auckland due to the demands of passenger numbers.
- The closest airport to New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) SE of NPL.
- New Plymouth Airport has a control tower with services provided by Airways Corporation.
- 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.
- New Plymouth Airport (NPL) has 3 runways.
- 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.
Facts about Mbala Airport (MMQ):
- The furthest airport from Mbala Airport (MMQ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,674 miles (18,788 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- Because of Mbala Airport's high elevation of 5,454 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MMQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MMQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The closest airport to Mbala Airport (MMQ) is Kasaba Bay Airport (ZKB), which is located 51 miles (83 kilometers) WNW of MMQ.
- Mbala Airport (MMQ) currently has only 1 runway.