Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Murcia, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV), Murcia, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,098 miles (or 19,470 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 Murcia–San Javier 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 Murcia–San Javier Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

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

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• 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.
• 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.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• Air Movements Rongotai sits on the opposite side of the Wellington airport runway from the main passenger terminals, its main use being the facilatation of RNZAF flights and flights of overseas military forces.
• 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.
• At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.

Facts about Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV):

• The furthest airport from Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV) is Gisborne Airport (GIS), which is nearly antipodal to Murcia–San Javier Airport (meaning Murcia–San Javier Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gisborne Airport), and is located 12,347 miles (19,870 kilometers) away in Gisborne, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV) is Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) NNE of MJV.
• Because of Murcia–San Javier Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Murcia–San Javier 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.
• Murcia–San Javier Airport (MJV) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Murcia–San Javier Airport", another name for MJV is "Aeropuerto de Murcia-San Javier".
• In light of the development of the new International airport of the Region of Murcia in Corvera, and despite the recent investment of €60 million in a new runway and commercial terminal buildings, in November 2011 the Minister of Public Works Antonio Sevilla, and Secretary of State for Transport Isaías Táboas, signed an official agreement that effectively proposed to close the airport to commercial traffic from summer 2012.