Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Athens, Greece:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH), Athens, Greece would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,876 miles (or 17,503 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 Wellington International Airport and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos", 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 Wellington International Airport and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos". 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 Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• As recently as 1992, several alternate sites for Wellington Airport were considered – Te Horo, Paraparaumu, Mana Island, Ohariu Valley, Horokiwi, Wairarapa and Pencarrow – but a decision was made to upgrade the existing site at Rongotai.
• At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.
• Wellington will be spending $40 million expanding its south west pier at the domestic terminal to cope with increased passengers numbers work is expected to be finished in 2015.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• The furthest airport from Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wellington International Airport (meaning Wellington International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,966 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• Because of Wellington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Wellington 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 Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The South Pier contains six gates that serve regional aircraft and Air New Zealand Link turboprop aircraft.

Facts about Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH):

• The closest airport to Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Porto Kheli Airport (PKH), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) SW of ATH.
• The furthest airport from Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• The airport is accessible by the Attiki Odos toll highway from the centre and northern Athens, Varis-Koropiou Avenue from the western part, Laurio Ave.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" handled 12,536,038 passengers last year.
• The Main Terminal Building handles the all intra-Schengen flights, as well as several non-Schengen flights.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) has 2 runways.
• The airport was opened in March 2001 to replace the now-closed Athens International Airport.
• Because of Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"'s relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" 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.
• Travel to and from the airport requires a special ticket, priced at 8 euros.
• In addition to being known as "Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"", another name for ATH is "Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών "Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος"".