Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Yamagata, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Shonai Airport (SYO), Yamagata, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,498 miles (or 8,849 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 Grand Forks International Airport and Shonai 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 Grand Forks International Airport and Shonai 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 Grand Forks International Airport (GFK):

• Due to the increased amount of general aviation traffic, primarily from the UND Aerospace flight training school, a fourth runway has been completed on the southeast side of the airport.
• Because of Grand Forks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Grand Forks 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.
• In the mid-2000s, discussion began of upgrading or totally replacing the terminal as it has structural and safety problems and leaves little to no room for expansion.
• Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) has 4 runways.
• One option was to keep the terminal as is.
• GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator at the airport, completed construction of a new $4.5 million facility in Fall 2008.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) W of GFK.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,514 miles (16,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Shonai Airport (SYO):

• The closest airport to Shonai Airport (SYO) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 42 miles (67 kilometers) SE of SYO.
• The furthest airport from Shonai Airport (SYO) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,620 miles (18,701 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Shonai Airport", other names for SYO include "庄内空港" and "Shonai Kūkō".
• Shonai Airport (SYO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Seiko Epson has also used the airport for weekly employee charter flights to and from Matsumoto since 1997.
• Because of Shonai Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Shonai 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.