Nonstop flight route between Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Nakashibetsu, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Benson (BEX), Benson, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom and Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB), Nakashibetsu, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,553 miles (or 8,937 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 RAF Benson and Nakashibetsu 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 RAF Benson and Nakashibetsu 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 RAF Benson (BEX):

• The furthest airport from RAF Benson (BEX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,879 miles (19,118 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Benson (BEX) is RAF High Wycombe (HYC), which is located only 13 miles (22 kilometers) ENE of BEX.
• The station retained a reconnaissance role for some years after the war, with Avro Lancaster, Spitfire, Mosquito, Gloster Meteor PR.Mk 10 and English Electric Canberra PR.Mk 3 aircraft.
• The Chiltern Air Support Unit helicopter and the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance helicopter are also both located here as lodger units.
• The station is today the home to four squadrons of Support Helicopters, 28 Squadron, 78 Squadron with Merlin helicopters and 33 Squadron and 230 Squadron with Puma helicopters.

Facts about Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB):

• Because of Nakashibetsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 214 feet, planes can take off or land at Nakashibetsu 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.
• In addition to being known as "Nakashibetsu Airport", another name for SHB is "中標津空港".
• Nakashibetsu Airport is an airport located 2 NM from Nakashibetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan.
• Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB) is Memanbetsu Airport (MMB), which is located 45 miles (72 kilometers) WNW of SHB.
• The furthest airport from Nakashibetsu Airport (SHB) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,246 miles (18,099 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• The airport serves Nakashibetsu and the nearby city of Nemuro.
• In 2011, the Hokkaido government announced that landing fees would be waived for international charter flights using the airport in an attempt to lure more overseas tourists to the region.