Nonstop flight route between Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Zaragoza, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ), Zaragoza, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,712 miles (or 10,803 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 Zaragoza 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 Zaragoza 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 surrender of Japanese forces in the Ryukyu Islands came on 7 September.
• 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.
• 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.
• Upon its reassignment to the Pacific Theater, Eighth Air Force was assigned to the U.S.
• What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet strip of badly-damaged coral runway.
• 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 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".

Facts about Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ):

• The closest airport to Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Huesca–Pirineos Airport (HSK), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) NE of ZAZ.
• The construction work on Zaragoza Airport began in September 1954 with the enlargement and improvement of the existing Spanish Air Force Base located there.
• Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Zaragoza Airport (meaning Zaragoza Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Zaragoza Airport", another name for ZAZ is "Aeropuerto de Zaragoza".
• Because of Zaragoza Airport's relatively low elevation of 863 feet, planes can take off or land at Zaragoza 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.
• Zaragoza was chosen as a NASA Space Shuttle TAL site due to its long runway, which needs be longer than 7,500 feet, and its pleasant weather.