Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Shanghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), Shanghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,059 miles (or 9,751 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 Shanghai Hongqiao International 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 Shanghai Hongqiao International 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.
• Rongotai Airport started with a grass runway in November 1929.
• 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.
• Wellington International Airport is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• The international terminal – partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand in 1986 – has been upgraded in various stages since 2005.
• 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.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA):

• Hongqiao Airport served as Shanghai's primary airport until the completion of Pudong International Airport in 1999, when almost all international flights were moved to Pudong.
• Because of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Shanghai Hongqiao 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.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) has 2 runways.
• An airport was first built in the town of Hongqiao in the west of Shanghai in 1907, initially as a small military airfield.
• Terminal 2 of the Hongqiao Airport is immediately adjacent to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, a major train hub served by the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, the Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway and the Shanghai–Nanjing Intercity High-Speed Railway.
• Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport handled 33,851,200 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) E of SHA.
• In addition to being known as "Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport", other names for SHA include "上海虹桥国际机场" and "Shànghǎi Hóngqiáo Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) is Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport (COC), which is nearly antipodal to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (meaning Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Comodoro Pierrestegui Airport), and is located 12,397 miles (19,951 kilometers) away in Concordia, Entre Ríos, Argentina.