Nonstop flight route between Whangarei, New Zealand and Vila Real, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whangarei Airport (WRE), Whangarei, New Zealand and Vila Real Airport (VRL), Vila Real, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,040 miles (or 19,376 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 Vila Real 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 Vila Real Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between WRE and VRL makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Whangarei Airport and Vila Real Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between WRE and VRL are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Whangarei, New Zealand and Vila Real, Portugal by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between WRE and VRL!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Whangarei Airport (WRE):

• 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 Airport (WRE) has 2 runways.
• 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.
• The runway is lit by pilot activation of the lights, and Av-Gas and Jet A1 are available by fuel card payment.
• Whangarei District Airport no longer has an Aero Club due to a drop in membership and private flying.
• 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.
• Whangarei has several scheduled flight destinations, the furthest away being Wellington at 626 km.
• This upgrade allowed Air New Zealand, through its subsidary airline Air Nelson, start trialing flights with their new Bombardier Q300 aircraft.
• The closest airport to Whangarei Airport (WRE) is Dargaville Aerodrome (DGR), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) WSW of WRE.

Facts about Vila Real Airport (VRL):

• The closest airport to Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of VRL.
• The furthest airport from Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Takaka Aerodrome (KTF), which is nearly antipodal to Vila Real Airport (meaning Vila Real Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takaka Aerodrome), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Takaka, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Vila Real Airport", another name for VRL is "Aeródromo Municipal de Vila Real".
• Vila Real Airport (VRL) currently has only 1 runway.