Nonstop flight route between Shelton, Washington, United States and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sanderson Field (SHN), Shelton, Washington, United States and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,390 miles (or 11,894 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 Sanderson Field and Christchurch 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 Sanderson Field and Christchurch 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 Sanderson Field (SHN):

• Sanderson Field (SHN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Services at Sanderson include minor airframe and powerplant repair by Olympic Air.
• The closest airport to Sanderson Field (SHN) is Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of SHN.
• The furthest airport from Sanderson Field (SHN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,810 miles (17,397 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Because of Sanderson Field's relatively low elevation of 273 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanderson Field 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.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• Due to increasing passenger numbers, the airport has completed construction on a new Domestic terminal upgrade costing $237 million.
• Christchurch Airport consists of a single terminal which caters for both domestic and international flights.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• In early 2009 work on the new terminal commenced.
• Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch 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.
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• 5,592,529 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
• The furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• In May 2013 the airport began kicking out travellers who tried to sleep at the airport overnight, saying they should find proper accommodation, but backed down after neighbours complained people were sleeping rough outdoors.The airport has direct flights to 18 domestic and 11 international destinations.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• Three different city bus routes service the airport.