Nonstop flight route between Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI), Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,796 miles (or 9,328 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 Heide-Büsum Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, 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 Heide-Büsum Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. 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 Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI):

• In addition to being known as "Heide-Büsum Airport", another name for HEI is "Flugplatz Heide-Büsum".
• Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,683 miles (18,801 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Heide-Büsum Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Heide-Büsum 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 closest airport to Heide-Büsum Airport (HEI) is Nordholz Naval Airbase (FCN), which is located 28 miles (46 kilometers) SSW of HEI.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan Air Base, South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• Kadena airfield was initially under the control of Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from RAF High Wycombe England.
• Since November 1954, the 18th Wing under various designations has been the main United States Air Force operational unit at Kadena.
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena AB.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.