Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Rotorua, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Rotorua International Airport (ROT), Rotorua, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,458 miles (or 18,439 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and Rotorua International 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and Rotorua International 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 MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• Starting in July 1966, bases in Turkey, Spain, and Italy were transferred from Tactical Air Command to USAFE.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
• During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• The 20th began realigning its units 15 March 1957 as part of an Air Force worldwide reorganization.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• The closure of US bases in France forced the opening of RAF Greenham Common under 20th TFW management to handle personnel overflow beginning in January 1967.
• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 21 September the 416th moved to their Advanced Landing Ground at Melun/Villaroche France.
• In 1951, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the British provided RAF Wethersfield to the USAF as part of their NATO commitment.
• On 6 June 1982 614 VGS moved to MDPGA Wethersfield from RAF Debden, as that base was required for tank training.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".

Facts about Rotorua International Airport (ROT):

• Rotorua International Airport (ROT) has 2 runways.
• Because of Rotorua International Airport's relatively low elevation of 936 feet, planes can take off or land at Rotorua 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 airport is located around 9.17 kilometres northeast of Rotorua on Te Ngae Road.
• Qantas previously served Rotorua from Christchurch using Boeing 737 aircraft, but this service was withdrawn in 2009.
• The furthest airport from Rotorua International Airport (ROT) is Ciudad Real Central Airport (CQM), which is nearly antipodal to Rotorua International Airport (meaning Rotorua International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ciudad Real Central Airport), and is located 12,383 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Ciudad Real, Spain.
• Today it has more frequent operations, being by Air New Zealand and its regional subsidiaries.
• Rotorua International Airport handled 227,578 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Rotorua International Airport (ROT) is Tauranga Airport (TRG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) NNW of ROT.
• Construction began in 2008.