Nonstop flight route between Queenstown, New Zealand and Merced, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Queenstown Airport (ZQN), Queenstown, New Zealand and Merced Regional Airport (MCE), Merced, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,190 miles (or 11,572 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 Queenstown Airport and Merced 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 Queenstown Airport and Merced 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 Queenstown Airport (ZQN):

• On 22 June 2010, a late-running Pacific Blue flight to Sydney took off from Queenstown.
• On 8 July 2010, Auckland International Airport Limited, the operator of Auckland Airport, announced it had entered into an agreement to take a 24.99% shareholding in Queenstown Airport Corporation Limited and form a strategic alliance between the two airports.
• The closest airport to Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is Wanaka Airport (WKA), which is located 32 miles (52 kilometers) NE of ZQN.
• A regular scenic route between Queenstown and Milford Sound was first established by Southern Scenic Air Services Ltd in August 1951.
• Queenstown Airport (ZQN) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Queenstown Airport (ZQN) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Queenstown Airport (meaning Queenstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,251 miles (19,716 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.

Facts about Merced Regional Airport (MCE):

• Merced Regional Airport (MCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Castle Airport (MER), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) NNW of MCE.
• Merced Regional Airport is a base for Medi-Flight Northern California, an air ambulance service provided by Mercy Air, a subsidiary of Air Methods.
• The Department of Transportation reselected Great Lakes Airlines to provide Essential Air Service at Merced Regional Airport for the two-year period from October 1, 2012, through September 30, 2014.
• Because of Merced Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 155 feet, planes can take off or land at Merced Regional 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.
• In addition to being known as "Merced Regional Airport", another name for MCE is "MacReady Field".
• On March 6, 2009 the city council voted to change the name from Merced Municipal Airport to Merced Regional Airport.
• The furthest airport from Merced Regional Airport (MCE) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,314 miles (18,209 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.