Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB), Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 12,239 miles (or 19,696 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō and Afonso Pena International 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō and Afonso Pena International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

The distance between DNA and CWB makes them almost exactly antipodal (the exact opposite side of the world) to each other. Nonstop flights between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō and Afonso Pena International Airport would be very impractical for the airlines, because only a lightly loaded Boeing 777-200LR would be able to make the trip. Since airlines need to be able to take as many people and cargo as possible in order to make a profit, the odds of ever seeing a nonstop flight between DNA and CWB are slim to none. However, you'll still be able to get from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil by taking some connecting flights!

Did you know that one full circling of the Earth (measuring from the equator) is about 24,901.5 miles (or 40,075 kilometers), which means if you were 12,450 miles from any given point on the planet, the distance back to your starting point would be about the same -- in any direction! The same can be said for a nonstop flight between DNA and CWB!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

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

• In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized Lockheed C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing.
• 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.
• The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB.
• Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the 1 April 1945, Battle of Okinawa, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the island's village of Kadena.
• Kadena Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• Beginning in 1961, the 18th was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance forces, and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War.
• At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.
• Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S.

Facts about Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB):

• The furthest airport from Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to Afonso Pena International Airport (meaning Afonso Pena International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,402 miles (19,959 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• On 31 August 2009, Infraero unveiled a BRL30 million investiment plan to upgrade Afonso Pena International Airport focusing on the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Brazil, Curitiba being one of the venue cities.
• Since the bottleneck for the airport is the cargo capacity, the main runway was lengthened in 2008 to allow cargo flights to operate with greater loads and the cargo terminal was upgraded.
• As it was the case with many important Brazilian airports located in strategic points along the coast, Afonso Pena, was built by the Brazilian Air Force Ministry in partnership with the United States Army during the Second World War.
• Afonso Pena International Airport handled 6,825,666 passengers last year.
• Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Afonso Pena International Airport", another name for CWB is "Aeroporto Internacional Afonso Pena".
• The closest airport to Afonso Pena International Airport (CWB) is Bacacheri Airport (BFH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) NNW of CWB.