Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Pilot Point, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Pilot Point Airport (PIP), Pilot Point, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,018 miles (or 11,295 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 Pilot Point 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 Pilot Point 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.
• The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia.
• 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.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• 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's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft.
• 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.
• 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.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Pilot Point Airport (PIP):

• The closest airport to Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is Ugashik Airport (UGS), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of PIP.
• Pilot Point Airport (PIP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Pilot Point Airport (PIP) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,808 miles (17,394 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• On 1 July 1981, Douglas R4D N111ST of United Aircraft Services crashed shortly after take-off while on a flight to Anchorage International Airport, following the failure of the port engine.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 738 commercial passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, an increase of 9% from the 678 enplanements in 2007.
• Because of Pilot Point Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Pilot Point 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 "Pilot Point Airport", other names for PIP include "Pilot Point Airport (new location)" and "PNP".