Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Henderson Field (MDY), Sand Island, Midway Atoll, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,830 miles (or 7,773 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 Henderson Field, 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 Henderson Field. 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):

• Wellington has a reputation for sometimes rough and turbulent landings, even in larger aircraft, due to the channelling effect of Cook Strait creating strong and gusty winds, especially in pre frontal north westerly conditions.
• 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 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.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Henderson Field (MDY):

• Because of Henderson Field's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Henderson Field 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.
• After transition from the U.S.
• The closest airport to Henderson Field (MDY) is Johnston Atoll Airport (JON), which is located 937 miles (1,508 kilometers) SE of MDY.
• Henderson Field (MDY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Henderson Field (MDY) is Lüderitz Airport (LUD), which is located 11,656 miles (18,759 kilometers) away in Luderitz, Namibia.