Nonstop flight route between Durango, Colorado, United States and Niigata, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO), Durango, Colorado, United States and Niigata Airport (KIJ), Niigata, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,724 miles (or 9,212 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport and Niigata 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport and Niigata 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 Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO):

• Most flights now are turboprops or regional jets, the exception being Frontier Airlines Airbus A319s nonstop to Denver.American Eagle, flying for American Airlines, has Embraer ERJ-140s and ERJ-145s nonstop to Dallas/Ft.
• The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say it had 134,386 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 148,077 in 2009 and 163,611 in 2010.
• Durango–La Plata County Airport is a city and county owned, public airport 12 miles southeast of Durango, in La Plata County, Colorado.
• Because of Durango–La Plata County Airport's high elevation of 6,685 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DRO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DRO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Animas Air Park (AMK), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WNW of DRO.
• Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Durango–La Plata County Airport (DRO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,121 miles (17,897 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

Facts about Niigata Airport (KIJ):

• Scheduled "limousine bus" service is provided to and from Niigata Station every 20 minutes and heavily subsidized by Niigata Prefecture.
• Because of Niigata Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Niigata 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 airport saw several major service expansions in the spring of 2012, when China Eastern Airlines, Fuji Dream Airlines and All Nippon Airways announced service to Shanghai, Nagoya and Narita respectively.
• Niigata Airport (KIJ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Niigata Airport", other names for KIJ include "新潟空港" and "Niigata Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,682 miles (18,800 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Shonai Airport (SYO), which is located 70 miles (112 kilometers) NNE of KIJ.