Nonstop flight route between Artesia, New Mexico, United States and Fukuoka, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS), Artesia, New Mexico, United States and Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Fukuoka, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,623 miles (or 10,659 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 Artesia Municipal Airport and Fukuoka 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 Artesia Municipal Airport and Fukuoka Airport. 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 Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS):

• The furthest airport from Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,261 miles (18,123 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• During 1943 and 1944 was used by the United States Army Air Forces as a contract glider training airfield.
• Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS) has 2 runways.
• For the 12-month period ending April 6, 2011, the airport had 11,550 general aviation aircraft operations, an average of 31 per day.
• The closest airport to Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS) is Roswell International Air Center (ROW), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) N of ATS.

Facts about Fukuoka Airport (FUK):

• Because of Fukuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukuoka 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 Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Fukuoka Airport (meaning Fukuoka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,719 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Fukuoka Airport (FUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSW of FUK.
• At its height, Itazuke AB was the largest USAF base on Kyūshū, but was closed in 1972 due to budget reductions and the overall reduction of United States military forces in Japan.
• The 8th was reassigned back to the United States in July 1964 to George AFB, California where it was equipped with the new F-4C Phantom II and eventually became a major USAF combat wing in Thailand during the Vietnam War.
• Mushiroda was built on farmland that once grew bumper rice crops during 1943.
• Fukuoka's first civilian air service was Japan Airlines' Fukuoka-Osaka-Tokyo service, which commenced in 1951.
• On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, starting a war that would last three years.
• In addition to being known as "Fukuoka Airport", other names for FUK include "福岡空港" and "Fukuoka KūkōItazuke Air Base".