Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Altoona–Blair County Airport (AOO), Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,712 miles (or 14,020 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and Altoona–Blair County 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and Altoona–Blair County 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• Re-development proposals involve closing 11/29, with a parallel grass runway as the only crosswind runway.
• Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• On 17 February 2008, above an adjacent hardware store, Placemakers, there was a triple-fatality mid-air collision between a Cessna 152 and a helicopter, both of which plummeted from approximately 1500 ft, the helicopter into the store and the plane into a nearby street.

Facts about Altoona–Blair County Airport (AOO):

• Altoona–Blair County Airport (AOO) has 2 runways.
• The airport covers 320 acres at an elevation of 1,503 feet above sea level.
• The furthest airport from Altoona–Blair County Airport (AOO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,578 miles (18,633 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Altoona–Blair County Airport houses the Kitty Hawk Restaurant, which is accessible either from the flight line or from the terminal building.
• US Airways ended flights to Pittsburgh on July 7, 2007.
• The closest airport to Altoona–Blair County Airport (AOO) is John Murtha Johnstown–Cambria County Airport (JST), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) W of AOO.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 11,051 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 6,439 in 2009 and 4,378 in 2010.