Nonstop flight route between Palo Alto, California, United States and Christchurch, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from PAO to CHC:
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- About this route
- PAO Airport Information
- CHC Airport Information
- Facts about PAO
- Facts about CHC
- Map of Nearest Airports to PAO
- List of Nearest Airports to PAO
- Map of Furthest Airports from PAO
- List of Furthest Airports from PAO
- Map of Nearest Airports to CHC
- List of Nearest Airports to CHC
- Map of Furthest Airports from CHC
- List of Furthest Airports from CHC
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), Palo Alto, California, United States and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,929 miles (or 11,150 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County and Christchurch International 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 Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County and Christchurch International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PAO / KPAO |
Airport Name: | Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County |
Location: | Palo Alto, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 37°27'39"N by 122°6'53"W |
Operator/Owner: | County of Santa Clara |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 4 feet (1 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from PAO |
More Information: | PAO Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | CHC / NZCH |
Airport Name: | Christchurch International Airport |
Location: | Christchurch, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°29'21"S by 172°31'55"E |
Area Served: | Christchurch |
Operator/Owner: | Christchurch City Council (75%) NZ Government (25%) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 123 feet (37 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from CHC |
More Information: | CHC Maps & Info |
Facts about Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO):
- The furthest airport from Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,289 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) is Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SE of PAO.
- The VOR approach is almost impossible to get from Air Traffic Control if the aircraft is GPS-equipped, because of the conflict with airline traffic in San Jose International Airport.
- Because of Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County's relatively low elevation of 4 feet, planes can take off or land at Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County 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 airport was opened to the public in April 1940.
- Facilities at this busy towered airport include multiple aircraft repair shops and a staffed terminal including West Valley Flight Club, Advanced Flyers, Peninsula Avionics, Sundance Flying Club, Stanford Flying Club, Rossi Aircraft, and Palo Alto Fuel Service.
- Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):
- In early 2009 work on the new terminal commenced.
- Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
- Christchurch Airport consists of a single terminal which caters for both domestic and international flights.
- Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
- The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
- The furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
- Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch International 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.
- Due to increasing passenger numbers, the airport has completed construction on a new Domestic terminal upgrade costing $237 million.
- Christchurch airport will be the winter base for the next 20 years for the NASA's SOFIA Space telescope which is fitted inside a 1977 Boeing 747SP.