Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Flanders, Belgium:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), Flanders, Belgium would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,633 miles (or 18,721 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 Ostend-Bruges 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and Ostend-Bruges International 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):

• 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 original runway dimensions were 1350 m x 45 m with an 85 m starter extension available on runway 16, nearly touching Kapiti Road, which runs past the aerodrome.
• Interest in providing commercial flights at Paraparaumu reignited because the Kapiti coast is one of New Zealand's fastest growing regional centres.
• 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 closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• In 1952 a DC-3 experienced engine failure when about to land on Runway 34, and ploughed into a house in Kohutuhutu Rd, Raumati Beach.
• In early 2007, the airport was sold by its first private owners to property developer Noel Robinson for NZ$40 million.

Facts about Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST):

• The closest airport to Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Dunkerque – Les Moëres Airfield (XDK), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of OST.
• During the Second World War, the German occupiers moved the airfield of Ostend-Stene to a site in the territory of the municipality of Middelkerke, five kilometres southwest of Ostend.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport handled 678,638 passengers last year.
• Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) currently has only 1 runway.
• The operations department of the airline Meridian Airways is Suites 150-154 of the Freight Building.
• The furthest airport from Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,925 miles (19,192 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 1 May 2003, Ryanair started a new route between Ostend and London-Stansted.
• Because of Ostend-Bruges International Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Ostend-Bruges 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.