Nonstop flight route between Stewart Island, New Zealand and Sirte, Libya:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), Stewart Island, New Zealand and Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX), Sirte, Libya would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,572 miles (or 17,013 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome and Ghardabiya Air Base, 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome and Ghardabiya Air Base. 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS):

• In the mid-1980s Stewart Island Air Services changed its name to Southern Air Limited with Keith Smith, Joe Cave, Bill Haslett and Sam Nicol as shareholders.
• The furthest airport from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (meaning Ryan's Creek Aerodrome is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1990 a hill at one end of the strip was leveled.
• Because of Ryan's Creek Aerodrome's relatively low elevation of 288 feet, planes can take off or land at Ryan's Creek Aerodrome 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 Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS) is Invercargill Airport (IVC), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SZS.

Facts about Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX):

• Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Ghardabiya Air Base", other names for SRX include "Gardabya Airport" and "SRX [1]".
• The furthest airport from Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX) is Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), which is located 11,720 miles (18,862 kilometers) away in Avarua, Cook Islands.
• Due to the 2011 Libyan civil war all flights were suspended however since the end of the conflict Libyan Airlines have resumed service, it is currently unknown if Air Libya Tibesti is using the airport.
• Because of Ghardabiya Air Base's relatively low elevation of 266 feet, planes can take off or land at Ghardabiya Air Base 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.
• It is the home base of 1124 Bomber Squadron and 1st Fighter-Bomber Squadron which operate the Su-22 aircraft.
• The closest airport to Ghardabiya Air Base (SRX) is Misrata International Airport (MRA), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) NW of SRX.