Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Kilkenny, Ireland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Kilkenny Airport (KKY), Kilkenny, Ireland would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,648 miles (or 18,746 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 Kilkenny 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 Wellington International Airport and Kilkenny 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 Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia.
• The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific.
• 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.
• Since 1998 the airport has been two-thirds privately owned by Infratil, with the remaining third owned by the Wellington City Council.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• According to WIAL in 2009, the forthcoming Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 were originally predicted to have improved runway performance over existing long haul aircraft, opening up the possibility of direct air links to Asia and the Americas if commercially viable.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of 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.

Facts about Kilkenny Airport (KKY):

• The furthest airport from Kilkenny Airport (KKY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,990 miles (19,296 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Kilkenny Airport's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Kilkenny 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 Kilkenny Airport (KKY) is Waterford Airport (WAT), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SSE of KKY.
• In addition to being known as "Kilkenny Airport", other names for KKY include "Bantry Aerodrome" and "EIKK / EIKL".
• Kilkenny Airport (KKY) currently has only 1 runway.