Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Totegegie Airport (GMR), Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,135 miles (or 5,045 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 Totegegie 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 Totegegie 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):

• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• On 24 October 2011, Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, commenced flights between Auckland and Paraparaumu.
• 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.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• Kapiti Coast Airport, earlier called Paraparaumu Airport, is on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the Wellington dormitory suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach, Paraparaumu to the east, and Raumati Beach to the south.
• 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.
• New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority has recently approved the airport after identifying approach obstruction issues.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Totegegie Airport (GMR):

• This shrub, Pemphis acidula, is widespread on Polynesian atolls and is best known as the miki miki.
• Mangareva is crucial in its role as the outside world's link to the more famous Pitcairn Island.
• Because of Totegegie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Totegegie 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.
• Totegegie Airport (GMR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Totegegie Airport (GMR) is Dawadmi Domestic Airport (DWD), which is nearly antipodal to Totegegie Airport (meaning Totegegie Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dawadmi Domestic Airport), and is located 12,323 miles (19,833 kilometers) away in Dawadmi, Saudi Arabia.
• The closest airport to Totegegie Airport (GMR) is Tureira Airport (ZTA), which is located 285 miles (458 kilometers) WNW of GMR.