Nonstop flight route between Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa and Misawa, Aomori, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Faleolo International Airport (APW), Apia, Upolu Island, Samoa and Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ), Misawa, Aomori, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,804 miles (or 7,732 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 Faleolo International Airport and Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō, 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 Faleolo International Airport and Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō. 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 Faleolo International Airport (APW):

• Faleolo Tower has some jurisdiction over the airspace of American Samoa and Tonga as well as its own airspace.
• Because of Faleolo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Faleolo 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.
• Faleolo International Airport (APW) currently has only 1 runway.
• Small turboprop aircraft connect American and independent Samoa.
• Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737.
• The furthest airport from Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maradi Airport (MFQ), which is nearly antipodal to Faleolo International Airport (meaning Faleolo International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maradi Airport), and is located 12,373 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Maradi, Niger.
• The closest airport to Faleolo International Airport (APW) is Maota (Salelologa) Airport (MXS), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) WNW of APW.

Facts about Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ):

• The United States Air Force's 35th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Misawa Air Base.
• Japanese Air Self Defense Force
• The 35th Fighter Wing also serves as the host unit to a variety of other tenant units representing three U.S.
• The first Japanese Air Self-Defense Force units were activated at Misawa in October 1954, and the first Japanese Northern Air Defense Force units began operations in 1957.
• The closest airport to Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ) is JMSDF Hachinohe Air Base (HHE), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MSJ.
• In addition to being known as "Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō", another name for MSJ is "Misawa AB".
• Misawa Air Base was near the take-off site of the world's first non-stop trans-Pacific flight in 1931.
• The furthest airport from Misawa Air Base 三沢飛行場 Misawa Hikōjō (MSJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,479 miles (18,473 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The 49th Fighter-Bomber Wing was relieved from its duties in South Korea on November 7, 1953 and resumed its host duties at the base.
• What is now called Misawa Air Base has been used by the military since the Meiji period, when it was used as a cavalry training center for the Imperial Army.
• After the immediate postwar reconstruction of facilities, the first permanent USAAF tenant was the 613th Air Control and Warning Squadron, taking up residence on July 15, 1946 and providing air traffic control in the Misawa area for the next decade.
• Between May and August 1953, the 12th Strategic Fighter Wing pulled a rotational TDY at Misawa relieving the 27th and being relieved in turn by the 31st Strategic Fighter Wing.