Nonstop flight route between Rochester, Minnesota, United States and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester International Airport (RST), Rochester, Minnesota, United States and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,191 miles (or 13,182 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 Rochester International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Rochester International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Rochester International Airport (RST):

• Rochester International Airport (RST) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Rochester International Airport (RST) is Austin Municipal Airport (AUM), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SW of RST.
• The furthest airport from Rochester International Airport (RST) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,811 miles (17,399 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In August 2012, just days after Allegiant Air announced flights between Rochester and Phoenix, the United States Department of Transportation gave the airport $500,000 and the city of Rochester gave the airport $250,000 to help recruit more airlines and non-stop destinations.
• The original Rochester International Airport was founded in 1928 by the Mayo Foundation as a way to get patients from far-flung locations to the Mayo Clinic.
• A five passenger plane en route to Rochester crashed in Lake Michigan, killing the four passengers, but the pilot did survive.
• In 1960 it was decided to replace Lobb Field with a new airport southwest of the town because it could not be expanded to accommodate the larger airliners & was too close to the urban area of Rochester.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Originally government-owned, the Kapiti Coast Airport was the greater Wellington region's main airport until Wellington International Airport re-opened in 1959.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• 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.
• Re-development proposals involve closing 11/29, with a parallel grass runway as the only crosswind runway.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.