Nonstop flight route between Sheffield, England, United Kingdom and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sheffield City Heliport (SZD), Sheffield, England, United Kingdom and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,699 miles (or 18,827 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 Sheffield City Heliport 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 Sheffield City Heliport 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 Sheffield City Heliport (SZD):

• Before it opened, Sheffield was the largest city in Europe without its own airport although there was a proposal made in 1968 to build an airport on land near Todwick in Rotherham but came to nothing.
• Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) currently has only 1 runway.
• An assessment commissioned by the City Council revealed it was losing £400,000 a year and was not sustainable.
• The furthest airport from Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,799 miles (18,989 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• Planning permission has been granted to turn the entire site into a business park, however in December 2012, Sheffield City Council received details of a bid to reopen the airport.
• Because of Sheffield City Heliport's relatively low elevation of 231 feet, planes can take off or land at Sheffield City Heliport 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.
• There has been a degree of controversy over whether there was any incentive for Peel to promote the airport.
• The closest airport to Sheffield City Heliport (SZD) is Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (DSA), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) ENE of SZD.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• With the development of Antarctic scientific expeditions, since the 1950s Christchurch Airport has been the base for all Antarctic flights operated by the United States Navy, United States Air Force, Air National Guard and Royal New Zealand Air Force as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
• 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.
• Development of the aerodrome at Harewood commenced in 1936.
• 5,592,529 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
• 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.
• As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• There is also the option of off-airport car parking facilities such as Christchurch Park & Fly offering a low cost alternative to parking at the airport carparks.
• Christchurch Airport recently underwent an extensive expansion project.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.