Nonstop flight route between Whangarei, New Zealand and Roanoke, Virginia, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand and Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,423 miles (or 13,556 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional 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):

• 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.
• Whangarei District Airport no longer has an Aero Club due to a drop in membership and private flying.
• Whangarei Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• 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 change in aircraft type restored capacity to 136,656 seats available on Air New Zealand per year.
• The Whangarei District Council approved an upgrade of the main runway and this was completed in April 2009.
• A Waco owned also by Northland Districts Aero Club crashed into Whangarei Harbour on 29 September 1957 after suffering an engine failure after take-off.

Facts about Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 315,293 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 297,588 enplanements in 2009, and 316,478 in 2010.
• Between 1984–1985, the city of Roanoke developed an Airport Master Plan calling for $43.8 million to be spent in the development of a new terminal building, in addition to other improvements throughout the site.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• During the period of Piedmont’s dominance, several regional airlines established service to Roanoke only to later pull out.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• In an effort to add more options for travelers in Roanoke, the airport added non-stop service to Orlando in May 2006 and Tampa in December 2006 with Allegiant Air.
• Landside facilities, or the facilities located outside the TSA security checkpoint, include check-in, car rental, baggage claim and a taxi hire.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• Designed for future expansion to accommodate additional aircraft, there has been talk of a terminal expansion, though official plans have yet to be announced.
• When facilities reached their maximum capacity, the need for upgrades became necessary for the airport to continue to grow.
• Federal funding for a new tower fell through in both 1993 and 1997, but in 1999 the FAA announced they were restarting the Roanoke project, paving the way for its construction.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Piedmont service originally commenced on April 16, 1948, with only a pair of flights, which carried 42 passengers.
• Shortly after it departed from Asheville Regional Airport in Asheville, North Carolina, on July 19, 1967, Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 collided with a twin-engine Cessna 310 on approach to Asheville.