Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Qikiqtarjuaq Airport (YVM), Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,920 miles (or 9,528 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 Qikiqtarjuaq 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 Qikiqtarjuaq 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):

• 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 Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida.
• 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 designation of the wing changed on 1 October 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept.
• The surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September.
• 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.
• Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955.
• The mission of NAVCOMM Det Okinawa is to provide communications support for SEVENTH Fleet and supporting units, U.S.
• 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 Qikiqtarjuaq Airport (YVM):

• Qikiqtarjuaq Airport is located at Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, Canada, and is operated by the government of Nunavut.
• The closest airport to Qikiqtarjuaq Airport (YVM) is Pangnirtung Airport (YXP), which is located 107 miles (172 kilometers) SSW of YVM.
• The furthest airport from Qikiqtarjuaq Airport (YVM) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,372 miles (16,692 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• This airport is a popular stop for pilots ferrying turboprop aircraft between Canada and Europe.
• One instrument approach is available, a NDB or GNSS circling approach.
• Qikiqtarjuaq is the destination in, and title of, an episode of Cabin Pressure, a BBC radio sit-com set in a one-aircraft airline.
• Because of Qikiqtarjuaq Airport's relatively low elevation of 18 feet, planes can take off or land at Qikiqtarjuaq 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.
• Qikiqtarjuaq Airport (YVM) currently has only 1 runway.