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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and Tamarindo Airport (TNO), Tamarindo, Costa Rica would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,172 miles (or 11,543 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 Tamarindo 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 Tamarindo 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• The main terminal building contains a common check-in area on the first floor and a common baggage claim area on the ground floor.
• 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 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.
• Because of the runway limitations, Qantas purchased two short-bodied "Special Performance" 747SP for flights between Wellington and Australia during the first half of the 1980s.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Tamarindo Airport (TNO):

• Because of Tamarindo Airport's relatively low elevation of 43 feet, planes can take off or land at Tamarindo 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.
• Tamarindo Airport (TNO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tamarindo Airport (TNO) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Tamarindo Airport (meaning Tamarindo Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,216 miles (19,659 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Tamarindo Airport (TNO) is Nosara Airport (NOB), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SSE of TNO.