Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Sharjah International Airport (SHJ), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,838 miles (or 14,224 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 Sharjah 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 Sharjah 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):

• Since 1998 the airport has been two-thirds privately owned by Infratil, with the remaining third owned by the Wellington City Council.
• 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.
• The South Pier contains six gates that serve regional aircraft and Air New Zealand Link turboprop aircraft.
• The international terminal – partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand in 1986 – has been upgraded in various stages since 2005.
• 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.
• In 1991, the airport released plans to widen the taxiway to CAA Code D & E specifications and acquire extra space, which were abandoned after protests from local residents.
• 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.
• 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 is the third busiest airport in New Zealand handling a total of 5,373,622 passengers in the year ending 31 March 2013.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Sharjah International Airport (SHJ):

• In addition to being known as "Sharjah International Airport", another name for SHJ is "مطار الشارقة الدولي".
• Sharjah Airport is the second largest Middle East airfreight hub in cargo tonnage, according to official 2009 statistics from Airports Council International.
• Because of Sharjah International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Sharjah 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.
• The closest airport to Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Dubai International Airport (DXB), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) WSW of SHJ.
• Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Sharjah International Airport handled 7,516,538 passengers last year.
• The airport is 15 km away from central Dubai.
• The current Sharjah Airport was built in the 1970s and was opened on 1 January 1977.
• The furthest airport from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,763 miles (18,931 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.