Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Mobile, Alabama, 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 Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), Mobile, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,833 miles (or 12,607 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 Mobile Regional 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 Mobile Regional 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):

• On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan Air Base, South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel.
• Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S.

Facts about Mobile Regional Airport (MOB):

• After its merger with Continental Airlines in 2012 United Airlines resumed flights to its hub in Houston, seven weekday flights.
• American Airlines served Mobile with Boeing 727-200s in the mid 1980s.
• Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) has 2 runways.
• Because of Mobile Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 219 feet, planes can take off or land at Mobile Regional 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.
• The furthest airport from Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,118 miles (17,893 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The Army used this airport as a basic pilot training airfield, under contract to Waterman Airlines.
• Continental Airlines flew nonstop service to Houston Intercontinental Airport during the late 1990s with Boeing 737-200 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets.
• In 2006 Delta Air Lines dropped several flights from Mobile and Continental Airlines added flights.
• In addition to being known as "Mobile Regional Airport", other names for MOB include "Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile" and "(former Bates Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) is Mobile Downtown Airport (BFM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of MOB.