Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Lourdes, France:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from PPQ to LDE:
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- About this route
- PPQ Airport Information
- LDE Airport Information
- Facts about PPQ
- Facts about LDE
- Map of Nearest Airports to PPQ
- List of Nearest Airports to PPQ
- Map of Furthest Airports from PPQ
- List of Furthest Airports from PPQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to LDE
- List of Nearest Airports to LDE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LDE
- List of Furthest Airports from LDE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE), Lourdes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,135 miles (or 19,530 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 Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées 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 Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
The distance between PPQ and LDE makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Kapiti Coast Airport and Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between PPQ and LDE are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Lourdes, France by taking some connecting flights!
Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between PPQ and LDE!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | PPQ / NZPP |
Airport Name: | Kapiti Coast Airport |
Location: | Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°54'16"S by 174°59'21"E |
Airport Type: | Attended, Uncontrolled, Certificated Aerodrome |
Elevation: | 22 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from PPQ |
More Information: | PPQ Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LDE / LFBT |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Lourdes, France |
GPS Coordinates: | 43°11'6"N by 0°0'6"W |
Operator/Owner: | SNC-Lavalin Aéroport |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1259 feet (384 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LDE |
More Information: | LDE Maps & Info |
Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):
- Constructed by the Royal New Zealand Air Force in July 1939 using equipment from Whenuapai, Paraparaumu was made available as an "Emergency Airport" by the government.
- The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
- 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.
- 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.
- In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
- 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.
- Re-development proposals involve closing 11/29, with a parallel grass runway as the only crosswind runway.
Facts about Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE):
- In addition to being known as "Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport", another name for LDE is "Aéroport de Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées".
- The furthest airport from Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (meaning Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,254 miles (19,721 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) is Pau Pyrénées Airport (PUF), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WNW of LDE.
- Over 70% of the airport traffic is charter flight from a variety of airlines across Europe journeying to the nearby Lourdes as part of a Catholic pilgrimage.
- Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport (LDE) currently has only 1 runway.