Nonstop flight route between Whangarei, New Zealand and Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from WRE to LAE:
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- About this route
- WRE Airport Information
- LAE Airport Information
- Facts about WRE
- Facts about LAE
- Map of Nearest Airports to WRE
- List of Nearest Airports to WRE
- Map of Furthest Airports from WRE
- List of Furthest Airports from WRE
- Map of Nearest Airports to LAE
- List of Nearest Airports to LAE
- Map of Furthest Airports from LAE
- List of Furthest Airports from LAE
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand and Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,671 miles (or 4,298 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 Whangarei Airport and Lae Nadzab 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 Whangarei Airport and Lae Nadzab Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WRE / NZWR |
Airport Name: | Whangarei Airport |
Location: | Whangarei, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 35°46'5"S by 174°21'54"E |
Operator/Owner: | Whangarei District Airport |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 133 feet (41 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WRE |
More Information: | WRE Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LAE / AYNZ |
Airport Name: | Lae Nadzab Airport |
Location: | Lae, Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°34'10"S by 146°43'33"E |
Operator/Owner: | Papua New Guinea Office of Civil Aviation |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 239 feet (73 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LAE |
More Information: | LAE Maps & Info |
Facts about Whangarei Airport (WRE):
- The control tower was closed down in 1988 as the airport was too small to warrant the service.
- The airport has a modern air-conditioned terminal building with free wifi and a cafeteria, which services Air New Zealand's subsidiaries, Eagle Airways and Air Nelson.
- Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
- Ansett went into liquidation in 2001, and this resulted in Air New Zealand's subsidary Eagle Airways being the only major airline operating out of the airport.
- Because of Whangarei Airport's relatively low elevation of 133 feet, planes can take off or land at Whangarei 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 Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.
- In 2009, airport passenger numbers were increasing steadily, with flight numbers increasing also, reaching a peak of 10 return flights to Auckland and 2 return flights to Wellington on weekdays.
- The runway is lit by pilot activation of the lights, and Av-Gas and Jet A1 are available by fuel card payment.
- The furthest airport from Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport (TNG), which is nearly antipodal to Whangarei Airport (meaning Whangarei Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport), and is located 12,421 miles (19,989 kilometers) away in Tangier, Morocco.
Facts about Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE):
- Between April 1943 and July 1943, the Allied Geographical Section of South West Pacific Area conducted reconnaissance after the Japanese invasion.
- Because of Lae Nadzab Airport's relatively low elevation of 239 feet, planes can take off or land at Lae Nadzab 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 furthest airport from Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,714 miles (18,852 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) is Bulolo Airport (BUL), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) S of LAE.
- Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE) currently has only 1 runway.
- Nadzab is located on the Erap River, 5 kilometres North of the Markham River.
- After Lae was liberated, the United States Army built Nadzab airport and developed it into a massive airbase complex.