Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM), Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,786 miles (or 12,530 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 Fort Smith Regional 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 Fort Smith Regional 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In early 2007, the airport was sold by its first private owners to property developer Noel Robinson for NZ$40 million.
• 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.
• On 6 November 1970, Douglas C-47B ZK-AXS of the Ministry of Transport was damaged beyond economic repair during a downwind simulated takeoff, when the undercarriage collapsed.
• 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.

Facts about Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM):

• Because of Fort Smith Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 469 feet, planes can take off or land at Fort Smith Regional 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.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,765 miles (17,324 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Fort Smith Regional Airport covers an area of 1,359 acres at an elevation of 469 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Fort Smith Regional Airport (FSM) is Robert S. Kerr Airport (RKR), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSW of FSM.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 85,095 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 76,401 enplanements in 2009, 83,902 in 2010, and 84,126 in 2011.