Nonstop flight route between Whangarei, New Zealand and Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad between 1924 and 1991):

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand and Pulkovo Airport (LED), Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad between 1924 and 1991) would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,136 miles (or 16,312 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 Pulkovo 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 Pulkovo 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 Whangarei Airport (WRE):

• Whangarei has several scheduled flight destinations, the furthest away being Wellington at 626 km.
• The Whangarei District Council approved an upgrade of the main runway and this was completed in April 2009.
• The 1970s saw an increase in domestic travel from Whangarei, so a new airport terminal was built on the northern side of the main runway to cater for this.
• 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.
• 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.
• The daily Wellington service will continue to be flown by Eagle Airways Beech 1900D.
• Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• On 19 November 1955 a Tiger Moth owned by the Northland Districts Aero Club crashed into Whangarei Harbour and two people were injured.

Facts about Pulkovo Airport (LED):

• Pulkovo Airport handled 12,854,366 passengers last year.
• During the Second World War the airport was the frontline in the Nazi Siege of Leningrad.
• In addition to being known as "Pulkovo Airport", another name for LED is "Аэропо́рт Пу́лково".
• Because of Pulkovo Airport's relatively low elevation of 79 feet, planes can take off or land at Pulkovo 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 Pulkovo Airport (LED) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,868 miles (17,491 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Pulkovo Airport (LED) is Rzhevka Airport (RVH), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NE of LED.
• The airport has two main runways.
• Pulkovo Airport (LED) has 2 runways.
• For a more comprehensive list, see Aviation Safety Network Entry for LED.