Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,354 miles (or 7,008 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Minami-Daito 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Minami-Daito 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 Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".

Facts about Minami-Daito Airport (MMD):

• Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Minami-Daito Airport", other names for MMD include "南大東空港" and "Minamidaitō Kūkō".
• The original Minamidaito Airport began as an air base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1934.
• The closest airport to Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) is Kitadaito Airport (KTD), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of MMD.
• The airport was relocated to its present location and upgraded to accommodate larger flights in July 1997 with the present 1500 meter runway.
• The furthest airport from Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) is Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport (JOI), which is nearly antipodal to Minami-Daito Airport (meaning Minami-Daito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Because of Minami-Daito Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Minami-Daito 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.