Nonstop flight route between Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada and Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY), Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada and Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,563 miles (or 12,171 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 Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport and Kapiti Coast 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 Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY):

• Built between 1940 and 1941 by the federal Department of Transport, it was transferred to the RCAF in 1942 as part of the Northwest Staging Route under the name of RCAF Station Whitehorse.
• In addition to being known as "Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport", another name for YXY is "Whitehorse/Erik Nielsen International Airport".
• The airport has two fixed base operator for fuel, limited aircraft maintenance facilities.
• The closest airport to Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY) is Haines Junction Airport (YHT), which is located 84 miles (135 kilometers) W of YXY.
• The furthest airport from Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,398 miles (16,734 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY) has 3 runways.

Facts about Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• As recently as 1992, alternate sites for a new airport for Wellington were investigated, including Paraparaumu, but a decision was made to upgrade Wellington Airport's existing site.
• This re-development was spurred by interest from Air New Zealand to operate Q300 aircraft.
• Paraparaumu was judged unsuitable for international operations in the 1950s due to Kapiti Island to the near west and the Tararua Ranges barely a mile east infringing the take-off and landing flightpaths.
• The furthest airport from Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Kapiti Coast Airport (meaning Kapiti Coast Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Interest in providing commercial flights at Paraparaumu reignited because the Kapiti coast is one of New Zealand's fastest growing regional centres.
• On 24 October 2011, Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, commenced flights between Auckland and Paraparaumu.
• New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority has recently approved the airport after identifying approach obstruction issues.
• On 17 February 2008, above an adjacent hardware store, Placemakers, there was a triple-fatality mid-air collision between a Cessna 152 and a helicopter, both of which plummeted from approximately 1500 ft, the helicopter into the store and the plane into a nearby street.
• Because of Kapiti Coast Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kapiti Coast 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.