Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,347 miles (or 18,261 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 Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria 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 closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• Because of the runway limitations, Qantas purchased two short-bodied "Special Performance" 747SP for flights between Wellington and Australia during the first half of the 1980s.
• Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):

• On 18 February 1988, Binter Canarias announced that the airline's main base was to be established at Gran Canaria.
• The furthest airport from Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Gran Canaria Airport (meaning Gran Canaria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• The Canary Islands Air Command is based in the city of Las Palmas.
• Because of Gran Canaria Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Gran Canaria 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.
• In addition to being known as "Gran Canaria Airport", another name for LPA is "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria".
• Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) has 2 runways.
• In 1963, improvements to the airport were made.
• Currently Gran Canaria airport is under renovation.
• The closest airport to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WNW of LPA.
• Gran Canaria Airport handled 9,770,253 passengers last year.
• In 2011 it handled over 10.5 million passengers, an 11.1% increase compared to 2010, and 23,7 million tonnes of cargo.