Nonstop flight route between Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand and King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,162 miles (or 14,745 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and King Abdulaziz Air Base, 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 Kapiti Coast Airport and King Abdulaziz Air Base. 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 Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ):

• On 6 November 1970, Douglas C-47B ZK-AXS of the Ministry of Transport was damaged beyond economic repair during a downwind simulated takeoff, when the undercarriage collapsed.
• The closest airport to Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) is Wellington International Airport (WLG), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) SSW of PPQ.
• Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ) has 3 runways.
• Kapiti Coast Airport, earlier called Paraparaumu Airport, is on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the Wellington dormitory suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach, Paraparaumu to the east, and Raumati Beach to the south.
• 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.
• In 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar from Whenuapai crashed into the Tararua Range.
• In early 2007, the airport was sold by its first private owners to property developer Noel Robinson for NZ$40 million.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA):

• The furthest airport from King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz Air Base (meaning King Abdulaziz Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,052 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) is King Fahd International Airport (DMM), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) WNW of DHA.
• The airport terminal building is one of the architectural works of Minoru Yamasaki, and was completed in 1961.
• Because of King Abdulaziz Air Base's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz Air Base 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 "King Abdulaziz Air Base", other names for DHA include "قاعدة الملك عبد العزيز الجوية", "Dhahran International Airport" and "مطار الظهران الدولي".
• A detachment of Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR1's from No.
• Dhahran International Airport has been transformed into a military airbase.