Nonstop flight route between Wellington, New Zealand and London, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from WLG to LHR:
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- About this route
- WLG Airport Information
- LHR Airport Information
- Facts about WLG
- Facts about LHR
- Map of Nearest Airports to WLG
- List of Nearest Airports to WLG
- Map of Furthest Airports from WLG
- List of Furthest Airports from WLG
- Map of Nearest Airports to LHR
- List of Nearest Airports to LHR
- Map of Furthest Airports from LHR
- List of Furthest Airports from LHR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,701 miles (or 18,830 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 Wellington International Airport and London Heathrow 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 Wellington International Airport and London Heathrow Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WLG / NZWN |
Airport Name: | Wellington International Airport |
Location: | Wellington, New Zealand |
GPS Coordinates: | 41°19'37"S by 174°48'19"E |
Area Served: | Wellington, New Zealand |
Operator/Owner: | Infratil, Wellington City Council |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 42 feet (13 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from WLG |
More Information: | WLG Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LHR / EGLL |
Airport Name: | London Heathrow Airport |
Location: | London, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°28'38"N by 0°27'41"W |
Area Served: | London, United Kingdom |
Operator/Owner: | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 83 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LHR |
More Information: | LHR Maps & Info |
Facts about Wellington International Airport (WLG):
- The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
- Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
- A proposal to relocate the terminal from the east side to the site of the Miramar Golf Course was put forward in 1956.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- At 2,081 metres, Wellington's runway is shorter than some New Zealand domestic airport runways.
- The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia.
- The length of the runway has limited the size of aircraft that can use the airport on a commercial basis, and overseas destinations are limited to the east coast of Australia and the South Pacific.
- 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.
- In April 2009, the airport issued a new master plan outlining upgrade plans over the next 20 years, including expanded terminal and apron space, and scope for runway extensions.
Facts about London Heathrow Airport (LHR):
- Until it was required to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports, Heathrow Airport Holdings held a dominant position in the London aviation market, and has been heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority as to how much it can charge airline to land.
- London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
- Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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 furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- As the airport is west of London and as its runways run east–west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the conurbation of London when the wind is from the west.
- The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
- Heathrow Airport is used by over 90 airlines flying to 170 destinations worldwide.
- Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles apart.
- Terminal 1 will be closed by the end of 2016 once all airlines have moved to other Heathrow terminals.