Nonstop flight route between New Plymouth, New Zealand and Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between New Plymouth Airport (NPL), New Plymouth, New Zealand and João Paulo II Airport (PDL), Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,359 miles (or 18,280 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 João Paulo II 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 João Paulo II 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 (NPL) has 3 runways.
• By the end of 2012 the larger ATR 72 aircraft will provide a service to Auckland due to the demands of passenger numbers.
• New Plymouth Airport handled 332,178 passengers last year.
• Origin Pacific Airways used to operate Jetstream J31 and Metroliner aircraft to/from Auckland and to/from Nelson 6x weekly.
• The airport is the 10th busiest airport in New Zealand with 32,791 aircraft movements in 2011.
• The closest airport to New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) SE of NPL.
• 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 has a control tower with services provided by Airways Corporation.
• 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 João Paulo II Airport (PDL):

• Because of João Paulo II Airport's relatively low elevation of 259 feet, planes can take off or land at João Paulo II 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 addition to being known as "João Paulo II Airport", another name for PDL is "Aeroporto João Paulo II".
• João Paulo II Airport (PDL) currently has only 1 runway.
• It has scheduled domestic flights to all islands of the Azores, plus Madeira and the mainland.
• The closest airport to João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) SSE of PDL.
• Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
• João Paulo II Airport handled 928,801 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from João Paulo II Airport (PDL) is Merimbula Airport (MIM), which is nearly antipodal to João Paulo II Airport (meaning João Paulo II Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Merimbula Airport), and is located 12,188 miles (19,615 kilometers) away in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia.