Nonstop flight route between Heraklion, Crete, Greece and Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (HER), Heraklion, Crete, Greece and Kumamoto Airport (KMJ), Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,708 miles (or 9,187 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 Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” and Kumamoto 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 Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” and Kumamoto 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 Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (HER):

• The closest airport to Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (HER) is Sitia Airport (JSH), which is located 53 miles (85 kilometers) E of HER.
• Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (HER) has 2 runways.
• The airport first opened in March 1939.
• In addition to being known as "Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis”", another name for HER is "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Ηρακλείου “Νίκος Καζαντζάκης”".
• Because of Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis”'s relatively low elevation of 115 feet, planes can take off or land at Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” 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 Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (HER) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,521 miles (18,541 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.

Facts about Kumamoto Airport (KMJ):

• The closest airport to Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Saga Airport (HSG), which is located 39 miles (62 kilometers) NW of KMJ.
• Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kumamoto was one of three nationally-owned airports to turn a profit in fiscal year 2011.
• In addition to being known as "Kumamoto Airport", other names for KMJ include "熊本空港" and "Kumamoto Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kumamoto Airport (KMJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Kumamoto Airport (meaning Kumamoto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,253 miles (19,720 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Kumamoto Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Kumamoto 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.