Nonstop flight route between Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Van Nuys, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yamagata Airport (GAJ), Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Van Nuys Airport (VNY), Van Nuys, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,324 miles (or 8,567 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 Van Nuys 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 Van Nuys 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Yamagata Airport", another name for GAJ is "山形空港".
• The closest airport to Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Sendai Airport (SDJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of GAJ.
• Yamagata Airport (GAJ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Van Nuys Airport (VNY):

• The closest airport to Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Whiteman Airport (WHP), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of VNY.
• Many movies and television shows have been filmed at the airport, including a scene showing the arrival of Major Strasser in Casablanca, an episode of the TV show Alias, and several episodes of Season 5 of 24.
• Because of Van Nuys Airport's relatively low elevation of 802 feet, planes can take off or land at Van Nuys 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.
• Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,472 miles (18,463 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Van Nuys Airport was also a location for filming of Metallica's music video for "The Memory Remains" and pop-punk band Blink-182's music video for "All The Small Things".
• Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley section of the city limits of Los Angeles, California.