Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Ekwok, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Ekwok Airport (KEK), Ekwok, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,137 miles (or 6,657 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 Ekwok 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 Ekwok Airport. 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 Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• 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.
• 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.
• What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet strip of badly-damaged coral runway.
• 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.
• Kadena airfield was initially under the control of Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from RAF High Wycombe England.
• Since November 1954, the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena.
• 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 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB.
• 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.

Facts about Ekwok Airport (KEK):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 283 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 182 enplanements in 2009, and 284 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Ekwok Airport (KEK) is New Stuyahok Airport (KNW), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) NNE of KEK.
• The furthest airport from Ekwok Airport (KEK) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,685 miles (17,196 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Ekwok Airport (KEK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ekwok Airport is a state owned, public use airport serving Ekwok, a city in the Dillingham Census Area of the U.S.
• Because of Ekwok Airport's relatively low elevation of 135 feet, planes can take off or land at Ekwok 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.