Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Stara Zagora, Bulgaria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Stara Zagora Airport (SZR), Stara Zagora, Bulgaria would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,581 miles (or 8,982 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 Stara Zagora 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 Stara Zagora 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 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 Fighter-Bomber Wing was reassigned to Kadena from Osan-ni AB, South Korea on 1 November 1954, flying three squadrons of North American F-86 Sabres.
• 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.
• 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.
• The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September.
• The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".

Facts about Stara Zagora Airport (SZR):

• The closest airport to Stara Zagora Airport (SZR) is Haskovo Malevo Airport (HKV), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) S of SZR.
• In addition to being known as "Stara Zagora Airport", other names for SZR include "Letishte Stara Zagora" and "Летище Стара Загора".
• The furthest airport from Stara Zagora Airport (SZR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,320 miles (18,218 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Stara Zagora Airport's relatively low elevation of 643 feet, planes can take off or land at Stara Zagora 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.