Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Carrillo, Costa Rica:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK), Carrillo, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,170 miles (or 11,538 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 Playa Sámara/Carrillo 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 Playa Sámara/Carrillo 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):

• Wellington is the third busiest airport in New Zealand handling a total of 5,373,622 passengers in the year ending 31 March 2013.
• 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 closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• 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.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Wellington's original domestic terminal was built as a temporary measure inside a corrugated iron hangar, originally used to assemble de Havilland aircraft.
• 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 Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK):

• Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK) is Punta Islita Airport (PBP), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) E of RIK.
• Because of Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Playa Sámara/Carrillo 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 "Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport", another name for RIK is "RIK[1]".
• The furthest airport from Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (RIK) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport (meaning Playa Sámara/Carrillo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,212 miles (19,654 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.