Nonstop flight route between Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Christchurch, New Zealand:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yamagata Airport (GAJ), Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Christchurch International Airport (CHC), Christchurch, New Zealand would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,006 miles (or 9,666 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 Yamagata Airport and Christchurch International 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 Yamagata Airport and Christchurch International 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 Yamagata Airport (GAJ):

• Yamagata Airport is a 2nd-class airport in Higashine, Yamagata, Japan.
• The airport has had no scheduled ground transportation services since April 2009 due to depressed passenger numbers.
• Because of Yamagata Airport's relatively low elevation of 345 feet, planes can take off or land at Yamagata 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.
• During the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, American troops used Yamagata Airport as a base for transporting fuel and materials to the disaster areas.
• The closest airport to Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Sendai Airport (SDJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of GAJ.
• The furthest airport from Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,606 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Yamagata Airport", another name for GAJ is "山形空港".
• Yamagata Airport (GAJ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Christchurch International Airport (CHC):

• A drop off and pick up lane is available on the ground floor of the multi-level carpark building.
• Christchurch International Airport (CHC) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is A Coruña Airport (LCG), which is nearly antipodal to Christchurch International Airport (meaning Christchurch International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from A Coruña Airport), and is located 12,389 miles (19,939 kilometers) away in A Coruña, Spain.
• With the development of Antarctic scientific expeditions, since the 1950s Christchurch Airport has been the base for all Antarctic flights operated by the United States Navy, United States Air Force, Air National Guard and Royal New Zealand Air Force as part of Operation Deep Freeze.
• Runway 11/29 will be widened and extended 244m west into the nearby golf course and a RESA will be added to each end to make it comply with ICAO standards.
• Christchurch Airport recently underwent an extensive expansion project.
• The closest airport to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) is Ashburton Aerodrome (ASG), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) SW of CHC.
• Christchurch International Airport handled 556,096 passengers last year.
• Because of Christchurch International Airport's relatively low elevation of 123 feet, planes can take off or land at Christchurch International 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.