Nonstop flight route between Kekaha, Hawaii, United States and Yamagata, Japan:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BKH to SYO:
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- About this route
- BKH Airport Information
- SYO Airport Information
- Facts about BKH
- Facts about SYO
- Map of Nearest Airports to BKH
- List of Nearest Airports to BKH
- Map of Furthest Airports from BKH
- List of Furthest Airports from BKH
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYO
- List of Nearest Airports to SYO
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYO
- List of Furthest Airports from SYO
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between PMRF Barking Sands (BKH), Kekaha, Hawaii, United States and Shonai Airport (SYO), Yamagata, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,713 miles (or 5,975 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 PMRF Barking Sands and Shonai 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 PMRF Barking Sands and Shonai Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BKH / PHBK |
Airport Name: | PMRF Barking Sands |
Location: | Kekaha, Hawaii, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 22°1'22"N by 159°47'5"W |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Navy |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from BKH |
More Information: | BKH Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYO / RJSY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Yamagata, Japan |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°48'43"N by 139°47'13"E |
Area Served: | Sakata, Yamagata |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 72 feet (22 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYO |
More Information: | SYO Maps & Info |
Facts about PMRF Barking Sands (BKH):
- Because of PMRF Barking Sands's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at PMRF Barking Sands 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.
- When North Korea threatened to launch Taepodong-2 ICBMs toward Hawaii in 2009, the US temporarily deployed THAAD missile batteries to the facility.
- The Navy is currently using PMRF to test hit to kill technology using direct collision of the anti-ballistic missile with its target.
- The furthest airport from PMRF Barking Sands (BKH) is Gobabis Airport (GOG), which is nearly antipodal to PMRF Barking Sands (meaning PMRF Barking Sands is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobabis Airport), and is located 12,351 miles (19,877 kilometers) away in Gobabis, Namibia.
- PMRF Barking Sands (BKH) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to PMRF Barking Sands (BKH) is Port Allen Airport (PAK), which is located only 15 miles (23 kilometers) SE of BKH.
- In 1921, the land area known as the Barking Sands was acquired by the Kekaha Sugar Company and became a runway for private planes.
- The base includes a 6,000-foot runway with operations and maintenance facilities.
Facts about Shonai Airport (SYO):
- The furthest airport from Shonai Airport (SYO) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,620 miles (18,701 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
- In addition to being known as "Shonai Airport", other names for SYO include "庄内空港" and "Shonai Kūkō".
- Seiko Epson has also used the airport for weekly employee charter flights to and from Matsumoto since 1997.
- The closest airport to Shonai Airport (SYO) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 42 miles (67 kilometers) SE of SYO.
- Shonai Airport (SYO) currently has only 1 runway.
- The airport opened in 1991 after lobbying efforts by local chambers of commerce, as the area was highly isolated from the major cities of Tokyo and Osaka, requiring half a day of travel to reach either.
- Because of Shonai Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Shonai 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.