Nonstop flight route between Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,203 miles (or 9,983 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 George Best Belfast City Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena 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 George Best Belfast City Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena 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 George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD):

• Because of George Best Belfast City Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at George Best Belfast City 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 airport was formerly known as "Belfast City Airport" until it was renamed in 2006 in memory of George Best, the professional footballer from Belfast.
• In October 2012 Aer Lingus moved its services from Belfast International to the Airport.
• George Best Belfast City Airport handled 2,541,759 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "George Best Belfast City Airport", another name for BHD is "Belfast City Airport".
• Passenger numbers increased by 4.5% from 2,621,763 in 2009 to 2,740,341 in 2010, the highest total on record at the airport.
• Following major capital investment Bombardier sold the airport in 2003 for £35 million to the Spanish company Ferrovial, the owner of BAA Airports.
• In June 2012, BMI subsidiary Bmibaby ceased all routes from Belfast City, prior to its total cessation of operations, leading Flybe to increase schedule frequency on some routes.
• Flexibus route 600 is the Belfast City Airlink service, from the terminal to the Belfast Europa Buscentre adjacent to the Europa Hotel and Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station.
• George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) is Belfast International Airport (BFS), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) WNW of BHD.
• Sydenham Airport was established by Shorts beside its Belfast factory at Sydenham, Belfast in 1937.
• The furthest airport from George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,843 miles (19,059 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• The 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reassigned to Kadena from Osan-ni AB, South Korea on 1 November 1954, flying three squadrons of North American F-86 Sabres.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized Lockheed C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing.