Nonstop flight route between Nelson, New Zealand and Spokane, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (NSN), Nelson, New Zealand and Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,454 miles (or 11,996 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 Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū and Fairchild Air Force Base, 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 Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū and Fairchild Air Force Base. 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 Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (NSN):

• Because of Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū 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.
• Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū handled 776,448 passengers last year.
• The airport has a single terminal building with 9 tarmac gates.
• Air New Zealand operate daily up to ten flights to Auckland, thirteen flights to Wellington, Two flights to Palmerston North and seven flights to Christchurch.
• Sounds Air offer a number of scenic and charter flight services out of Nelson.
• In 2014, Nelson City Council deemed the main terminal of Nelson Airport a earthquake risk and at fault of possible liquefaction.
• The closest airport to Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (NSN) is Motueka Aerodrome (MZP), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NW of NSN.
• Construction of Nelson Airport commenced in 1937.
• Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (NSN) has 4 runways.
• The furthest airport from Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (NSN) is Bragança Airport (BGC), which is nearly antipodal to Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū (meaning Nelson AirportTe Papa Waka Rererangi o Whakatū is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Bragança Airport), and is located 12,398 miles (19,953 kilometers) away in Bragança, Portugal.

Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):

• On 15 March 1966, the 336th Combat Crew Training Group was established at Fairchild.
• In late 1974, the Air Force announced plans to convert the 141st Fighter Interceptor Group of the Washington Air National Guard, an F-101 Voodoo unit at Geiger Field, to an air refueling mission with KC-135 aircraft.
• On 1 July 1994, the 92d Bomb Wing was re-designated the 92d Air Refueling Wing, and Fairchild AFB was transferred from ACC to Air Mobility Command in a ceremony marking the creation of the largest air refueling wing in the Air Force.
• The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
• Fairchild’s location, 12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.
• The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
• Fairchild AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot.