Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Milano, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP), Milano, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,680 miles (or 18,796 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 Milan Malpensa 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 Milan Malpensa 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 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.
• 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.
• At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft.
• In April 2006, Air New Zealand and Qantas announced that they proposed to enter into a codeshare agreement, arguing that it would be necessary in order to reduce empty seats and financial losses on trans-Tasman routes.
• In April 2009, the airport issued a new master plan outlining upgrade plans over the next 20 years, including expanded terminal and apron space, and scope for runway extensions.
• 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.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP):

• During the night of 24/25 October 1998 Alitalia moved the majority of its fleet from Rome-Fiumicino – where it had flown from for over 50 years – to Malpensa Airport, which then started a new lease of life as the Italian flag carrier's main hub.
• The furthest airport from Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Milan Malpensa Airport (meaning Milan Malpensa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,153 miles (19,559 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Milan Malpensa Airport", another name for MXP is "Aeroporto di Milano-Malpensa "Città di Milano"".
• Malpensa was the 21st busiest airport in Europe in terms of passengers, handling 18,947,808 passengers in 2010 and 18,537,301 in 2012.
• Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) has 2 runways.
• Since February 2010, Lufthansa Airport Bus, in partnership with Autostrade SpA, connects Milan Central Station, with Terminal 1 & 2, with stops in Fieramilanocity and Milan Fair – Rho/Pero on request, every 20 minutes.
• The closest airport to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NNE of MXP.
• Milan Malpensa Airport handled 18,537,301 passengers last year.