Nonstop flight route between Zürich, Switzerland and Wellington, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zurich Airport (ZRH), Zürich, Switzerland and Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,638 miles (or 18,730 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 Zurich Airport and Wellington 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 Zurich Airport and Wellington 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 Zurich Airport (ZRH):

• The closest airport to Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Emmen Swiss Air Base (EML), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SSW of ZRH.
• The furthest airport from Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Zurich Airport (meaning Zurich Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,087 miles (19,453 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Swiss International Air Lines has an office on the property of Zurich Airport and in Kloten, consisting of the Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie buildings.Swiss World Cargo has its head office in the Alpha and Bravo buildings.Swiss Private Aviation has its head office in the Swiss complex.Swiss European Air Lines and Swiss AviationTraining, subsidiaries of Swiss, are also headquartered on the airport property.
• The first flights off the west runway were not until 1948.
• The ground-side terminal complex comprises several buildings, and includes several airline check-in areas, a shopping mall, a railway station, car parks, and a bus and tram terminal.
• Zurich Airport handled 24,865,138 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Zurich Airport", another name for ZRH is "Flughafen Zürich".
• When Swissair existed, its head office was at Zurich Airport and in Kloten.
• Zurich Airport (ZRH) has 4 runways.

Facts about Wellington International Airport (WLG):

• Wellington has a reputation for sometimes rough and turbulent landings, even in larger aircraft, due to the channelling effect of Cook Strait creating strong and gusty winds, especially in pre frontal north westerly conditions.
• The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
• In April 2006, Air New Zealand and Qantas announced that they proposed to enter into a codeshare agreement, arguing that it would be necessary in order to reduce empty seats and financial losses on trans-Tasman routes.
• The international terminal – partially built by the now-defunct Ansett New Zealand in 1986 – has been upgraded in various stages since 2005.
• The furthest airport from Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Salamanca-Matacán Airport (SLM), which is nearly antipodal to Wellington International Airport (meaning Wellington International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salamanca-Matacán Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,966 kilometers) away in Salamanca, Spain.
• As recently as 1992, several alternate sites for Wellington Airport were considered – Te Horo, Paraparaumu, Mana Island, Ohariu Valley, Horokiwi, Wairarapa and Pencarrow – but a decision was made to upgrade the existing site at Rongotai.
• The airport comprises a small 110-hectare site on the Rongotai isthmus, a stretch of low-lying land between Wellington proper and the Miramar Peninsula.
• Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Wellington International Airport's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Wellington 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.