Nonstop flight route between Vila Real, Portugal and New Plymouth, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vila Real Airport (VRL), Vila Real, Portugal and New Plymouth Airport (NPL), New Plymouth, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,251 miles (or 19,716 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 Vila Real Airport and New Plymouth 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 Vila Real Airport and New Plymouth Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between VRL and NPL makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Vila Real Airport and New Plymouth 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 VRL and NPL are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Vila Real, Portugal and New Plymouth, New Zealand 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 VRL and NPL!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Vila Real Airport (VRL):

• In addition to being known as "Vila Real Airport", another name for VRL is "Aeródromo Municipal de Vila Real".
• The closest airport to Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of VRL.
• Vila Real Airport (VRL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Takaka Aerodrome (KTF), which is nearly antipodal to Vila Real Airport (meaning Vila Real Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takaka Aerodrome), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Takaka, New Zealand.

Facts about New Plymouth Airport (NPL):

• New Plymouth Airport handled 332,178 passengers last year.
• The original airport opened in 1933 with the New Plymouth Airport Act.
• The original terminal was renovated during the 1990s.
• Because of New Plymouth Airport's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Wanganui Airport (WAG), which is located 80 miles (129 kilometers) SE of NPL.
• New Plymouth District Council has confirmed that they are designing a new terminal extension for construction in 2015.
• The airport's only sealed taxiway connects the apron and the asphalt runway, so aircraft taxi on the runway, and commence take off roll from runway ends.
• The furthest airport from New Plymouth Airport (NPL) is Badajoz Airport (BJZ), which is nearly antipodal to New Plymouth Airport (meaning New Plymouth Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Badajoz Airport), and is located 12,382 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Badajoz, Spain.
• New Plymouth Airport (NPL) has 3 runways.