Nonstop flight route between Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan and Sofia, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between New Chitose Airport (CTS), Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan and Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,402 miles (or 8,693 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna, 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna. 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):

• 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.
• New Chitose Airport (CTS) has 4 runways.
• 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 closest airport to New Chitose Airport (CTS) is Asahikawa Airport (AKJ), which is located 73 miles (117 kilometers) NNE of CTS.
• Domestic terminal atrium
• 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 airline Hokkaido Air System was at one time headquartered in the New Chitose airport terminal.
• International departures area
• New Chitose previously had long-haul service to Amsterdam, Cairns and Honolulu.

Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):

• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
• Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
• The project for the construction of a new airport control tower at Sofia Airport commenced on 16 June 2006 with a decision of the BULATSA Management Board.
• Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
• The passenger terminal building is designed with a capacity of 2,000 peak hour passengers or up to 2.6 million passengers a year, plus 26,000 tonnes of luggage.
• The airport was initially built in the late 1930s on a site 6.3 km by road then.
• Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter.
• Service life of the new airport control tower will be more than 40 years and is designed to serve the airport with a possible extension.