Nonstop flight route between Amami Island, Japan and Akrotiri, Cyprus:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Amami Airport (ASJ), Amami Island, Japan and RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,480 miles (or 8,819 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 Amami Airport and RAF Akrotiri, 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 Amami Airport and RAF Akrotiri. 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 Amami Airport (ASJ):

• The closest airport to Amami Airport (ASJ) is Kikai Airport (KKX), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of ASJ.
• Because of Amami Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Amami 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 Amami Airport (ASJ) is Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport (LAJ), which is nearly antipodal to Amami Airport (meaning Amami Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Antônio Correia Pinto de Macedo Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Amami Airport (ASJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Amami Airport", other names for ASJ include "奄美空港" and "Amami Kūkō".

Facts about RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• Due to the station's relative proximity to the Middle East, it is often used by British allies when needed, such as for casualty reception for Americans after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and as a staging post before heading into theatres of combat in the Middle East/Persian Gulf theaters.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• Akrotiri was first constructed in the mid-1950s to relieve pressure on the main RAF station on the island, RAF Nicosia.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• The station commander is double-hatted and is also the officer commanding the Akrotiri or Western Sovereign Base Area, reporting to the commander of British Forces Cyprus who is also the Administrator.
• In March 2011, the station was used as a staging base for support aircraft involved in Operation Ellamy.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Up until 1974 RAF Akrotiri had a balanced force of aircraft assigned to it, even including No.
• Akrotiri was also the location of the main transmitter of the well known numbers station, the Lincolnshire Poacher, although transmissions ceased in 2008.
• The U-2s of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing were used in Operation Cedar Sweep to fly surveillance over Lebanon, relaying information about Hezbollah militants to Lebanese authorities, and in Operation Highland Warrior to fly surveillance over Turkey and northern Iraq to relay information to Turkish authorities.