Nonstop flight route between Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between New Chitose Airport (CTS), Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,048 miles (or 4,906 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 New Chitose Airport and Ladd Army Airfield, 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 New Chitose Airport and Ladd Army Airfield. 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 New Chitose Airport (CTS):

• New Chitose Airport (CTS) has 4 runways.
• China Airlines operates its Sapporo office on the third floor of the airport building.
• New Chitose Airport Station is located on a spur off the Chitose Line of Hokkaido Railway Company.
• Operating hours for international flights at CTS are restricted by the Japanese government in order to avoid interference with JASDF operations at the adjacent air base.
• The closest airport to New Chitose Airport (CTS) is Asahikawa Airport (AKJ), which is located 73 miles (117 kilometers) NNE of CTS.
• The furthest airport from New Chitose Airport (CTS) is Capitán de Corbeta Carlos A. Curbelo International Airport (PDP), which is located 11,383 miles (18,319 kilometers) away in Maldonado/Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay.
• The airport's IATA airport code was originally SPK.
• Because of New Chitose Airport's relatively low elevation of 70 feet, planes can take off or land at New Chitose 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 "New Chitose Airport", other names for CTS include "Sapporo/New Chitose Airport", "新千歳空港" and "Shin-Chitose Kūkō".
• The airport was upgraded with additional private aircraft handling facilities for the 34th G8 summit, held in Hokkaido in 2008.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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 airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.