Nonstop flight route between Tauranga, New Zealand and Bilbao, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tauranga Airport (TRG), Tauranga, New Zealand and Bilbao Airport (BIO), Bilbao, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,045 miles (or 19,385 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 Tauranga Airport and Bilbao 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 Tauranga Airport and Bilbao Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between TRG and BIO makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Tauranga Airport and Bilbao Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between TRG and BIO are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Tauranga, New Zealand and Bilbao, Spain by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between TRG and BIO!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tauranga Airport (TRG):

• The closest airport to Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Matamata Airport (MTA), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) W of TRG.
• Tauranga Airport (TRG) has 4 runways.
• In 2006 a study into the feasibility of a new airport at Paengaroa or Payes Pa was produced, but Tauranga Airport is yet to reach full operational capacity.
• The furthest airport from Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Tauranga Airport (meaning Tauranga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• Tauranga airport is the fifth busiest airport in New Zealand in terms of aircraft movements, with 86,935 movements during 2010.
• Because of Tauranga Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Tauranga 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 airport was opened in 1936.
• Tauranga Airport was acquired by the NZ Government from the traditional Maori land owners during World War 2 for defensive purposes.
• Palmerston North Airport, Air New Zealand Link and Tauranga Airport are in discussions to commence flights between Tauranga and Palmerston North

Facts about Bilbao Airport (BIO):

• The furthest airport from Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Bilbao Airport (meaning Bilbao Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,260 miles (19,730 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Bilbao Airport handled 3,800,789 passengers last year.
• In 1940, it was decided by common agreement with the local organisations affected to build a civilian airport in Sondika.
• Because of Bilbao Airport's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Bilbao 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.
• Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements.
• In addition to being known as "Bilbao Airport", another name for BIO is "Bilboko aireportua (eu) Aeropuerto de Bilbao (es)".
• The terminal has a sleek design, with two symmetrical "wings" and a sharp tip at its center which is specially visible when approaching the terminal from the sides.
• The closest airport to Bilbao Airport (BIO) is Vitoria-Gasteiz Airport (VIT), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) SSE of BIO.
• With the past increase of traffic, the terminal would have become saturated again in a year because it is designed to handle about 4.5 million passengers per year, in 2007 it went nearly to its maximum capacity.
• Bilbao Airport (BIO) has 2 runways.