Nonstop flight route between Fukuoka, Japan and Kivalina, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Fukuoka Airport (FUK), Fukuoka, Japan and Kivalina Airport (KVL), Kivalina, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,441 miles (or 5,538 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 Fukuoka Airport and Kivalina 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 Fukuoka Airport and Kivalina 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 Fukuoka Airport (FUK):

• The 8th was reassigned back to the United States in July 1964 to George AFB, California where it was equipped with the new F-4C Phantom II and eventually became a major USAF combat wing in Thailand during the Vietnam War.
• The Japanese Air Force's 6th Fighter Wing replaced the trainers and Mushiroda became an air defense base.
• Because of Fukuoka Airport's relatively low elevation of 30 feet, planes can take off or land at Fukuoka 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.
• In the mid-1990s, Delta Air Lines operated a non-stop flight between Fukuoka and its transpacific hub in Portland, Oregon, but later dropped the route due to financial pressure.
• The closest airport to Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) SSW of FUK.
• Fukuoka Airport (FUK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The first American units moved into the facility in November 1945, when the 38th Bombardment Group stationed B-25 Mitchells on the airfield.
• After the 1953 Armistice in Korea, the wartime combat units were slowly withdrawn back to the United States or reassigned to other airfields in Japan and South Korea.
• The furthest airport from Fukuoka Airport (FUK) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Fukuoka Airport (meaning Fukuoka Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,719 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Fukuoka Airport", other names for FUK include "福岡空港" and "Fukuoka KūkōItazuke Air Base".

Facts about Kivalina Airport (KVL):

• The closest airport to Kivalina Airport (KVL) is Noatak Airport (WTK), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) ESE of KVL.
• Because of Kivalina Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Kivalina 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 furthest airport from Kivalina Airport (KVL) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,364 miles (16,679 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• Kivalina Airport (KVL) currently has only 1 runway.