Nonstop flight route between Madrid, Spain and Wellington, New Zealand:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MAD to WLG:
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- About this route
- MAD Airport Information
- WLG Airport Information
- Facts about MAD
- Facts about WLG
- Map of Nearest Airports to MAD
- List of Nearest Airports to MAD
- Map of Furthest Airports from MAD
- List of Furthest Airports from MAD
- Map of Nearest Airports to WLG
- List of Nearest Airports to WLG
- Map of Furthest Airports from WLG
- List of Furthest Airports from WLG
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD), Madrid, Spain and Wellington International Airport (WLG), Wellington, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,333 miles (or 19,848 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] 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 Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Wellington International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
The distance between MAD and WLG makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] and Wellington International Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between MAD and WLG are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Madrid, Spain and Wellington, New Zealand by taking some connecting flights!
Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between MAD and WLG!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MAD / LEMD |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Madrid, Spain |
GPS Coordinates: | 40°28'19"N by 3°33'38"W |
Area Served: | Madrid, Spain |
Operator/Owner: | Aena |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 2000 feet (610 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from MAD |
More Information: | MAD Maps & Info |
Arrival 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 |
Facts about Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD):
- Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] handled 39,729,027 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Madrid–Torrejón Airport (TOJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) ENE of MAD.
- In the 1970s, with the boom in tourism and the arrival of the Boeing 747, the airport reached 4 million passengers, and began the construction of the international terminal.
- Following the death of former Spanish Prime Minister, Adolfo Suárez, the Spanish Ministerio de Fomento has announced that the airport is to be renamed to Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas.
- Terminal 4, designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers, and TPS Engineers, was built by Ferrovial and inaugurated on 5 February 2006.
- In the 1950s, the airport supported over half a million passengers, increasing to 5 runways and scheduled flights to New York City began.
- Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) has 4 runways.
- Barajas was voted "Best Airport" in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards.
- The furthest airport from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (MAD) is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), which is nearly antipodal to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] (meaning Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Palmerston North Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
- In addition to being known as "Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1]", another name for MAD is "Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas".
Facts about Wellington International Airport (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.
- Wellington International Airport (WLG) currently has only 1 runway.
- Wellington International Airport is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
- 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.
- 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.
- The airport, in addition to linking many New Zealand destinations with national and regional carriers, also has links to major cities in eastern Australia.
- Wellington is the third busiest airport in New Zealand handling a total of 5,373,622 passengers in the year ending 31 March 2013.
- 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.
- The closest airport to Wellington International Airport (WLG) is Kapiti Coast Airport (PPQ), which is located 31 miles (49 kilometers) NNE of WLG.
- A full-length runway extension, to accommodate long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 747, has been previously investigated, but would require expensive land reclamation into Lyall Bay, and massive breakwater protection from Cook Strait.
- 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.