Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Lisbon, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS), Lisbon, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,164 miles (or 19,576 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 Lisbon Portela 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 Lisbon Portela Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between WLG and LIS makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Wellington International Airport and Lisbon Portela 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 WLG and LIS are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Wellington, New Zealand and Lisbon, Portugal 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 WLG and LIS!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• A full-length runway extension, to accommodate long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 747, has been previously investigated, but would require expensive land reclamation into Lyall Bay, and massive breakwater protection from Cook Strait.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Wellington is the third busiest airport in New Zealand handling a total of 5,373,622 passengers in the year ending 31 March 2013.
• In 1991, the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA Code D & E specifications and acquire extra space, which were abandoned after protests from local residents.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.

Facts about Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS):

• In addition to being known as "Lisbon Portela Airport", another name for LIS is "Aeroporto da Portela".
• Because of Lisbon Portela Airport's relatively low elevation of 374 feet, planes can take off or land at Lisbon Portela 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.
• ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal has its head office in Building 120.
• With the long-term concession of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal to the French group Vinci Airports the project for a new airport was postponed in July 2013, and it was decided that the existing Lisbon Airport would be further upgraded to surpass 20 million passengers annually, and would remain the present solution for this major European gateway.
• Lisbon Portela Airport handled 16,024,955 passengers last year.
• Terminal 2 is used by 4 scheduled low-cost flight airlines for departures to European, North Atlantic islands and North African destinations, while Terminal 1 handles all arrivals and regular scheduled and chartered flights from most major European and North American air carriers.
• In November 2006, the company operating the airport, ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, announced an expansion plan for some airport structures, in order to respond to current passenger traffic growth trends and full capacity use of the airport, originally intended to respond to growth until the new airport was to be finished in 2017.
• The closest airport to Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is Beja Airport (BYJ), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) SE of LIS.
• Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) has 2 runways.
• Along with the airports in Beja, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Ponta Delgada and Horta, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.
• The furthest airport from Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) is New Plymouth Airport (NPL), which is nearly antipodal to Lisbon Portela Airport (meaning Lisbon Portela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from New Plymouth Airport), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in New Plymouth, New Zealand.