Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,702 miles (or 7,567 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen, 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen. 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 designation of the wing changed on 1 October 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept.
• 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.
• 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 Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.
• The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• 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.
• Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955.

Facts about Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• Because of Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen 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 route had doubled its patronage since its introduction by 1953—the last year it was operated by DNL.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen is an international airport located at Høybuktmoen, 15 kilometers west of the town of Kirkenes, in the municipality of Sør-Varanger, Finnmark county, Norway.
• The furthest airport from Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,424 miles (16,775 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The project was estimated to cost 267 million Norwegian krone.
• Høybuktmoen was built as a military air station by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
• Arctic Air took over Widerøe's flights to Vardø in 2000, using a 19-passenger Dornier Do 228.
• In addition to being known as "Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen", another name for KKN is "Kirkenes lufthavn, Høybuktmoen".
• The closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen handled 297,149 passengers last year.