Nonstop flight route between Rotorua, New Zealand and London, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rotorua International Airport (ROT), Rotorua, New Zealand and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,500 miles (or 18,507 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 Rotorua International Airport and London Heathrow 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 Rotorua International Airport and London Heathrow 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 Rotorua International Airport (ROT):

• Rotorua has two runways.
• Construction began in 2008.
• The furthest airport from Rotorua International Airport (ROT) is Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), which is nearly antipodal to Rotorua International Airport (meaning Rotorua International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ciudad Real Central Airport), and is located 12,383 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Ciudad Real, Spain.
• Rotorua International Airport handled 227,578 passengers last year.
• Rotorua International Airport (ROT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Rotorua International Airport's relatively low elevation of 936 feet, planes can take off or land at Rotorua 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.
• Today it has more frequent operations, being by Air New Zealand and its regional subsidiaries.
• Qantas previously served Rotorua from Christchurch using Boeing 737 aircraft, but this service was withdrawn in 2009.
• The closest airport to Rotorua International Airport (ROT) is Tauranga Airport (TRG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NNW of ROT.

Facts about London Heathrow Airport (LHR):

• London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
• The terminal will be used by all 23 Star Alliance members currently operating at Heathrow, as well as Aer Lingus, Little Red and Germanwings.
• Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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.
• In the 1950s, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles in the shape of a hexagram with the permanent passenger terminal in the middle and the older terminal along the north edge of the field, and two of its runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction.
• When runway alternation was introduced, aircraft generated significantly more noise on departure than when landing, so a preference for westerly operations during daylight was introduced, which continues to this day.
• The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
• The original 1950s red-brick control tower was demolished in early 2013 to enable access roads for the new Terminal 2 to be laid.
• The furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Until 2008, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty.
• The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, which also owns and operates three other UK airports, and is itself owned by FGP TopCo Limited, an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group that includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
• Heathrow lies 12 nautical miles west of Central London, and has two parallel east–west runways along with five terminals on a site that covers 12.14 square kilometres.
• Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles apart.