Nonstop flight route between Houston, Texas, United States and Osaka, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), Houston, Texas, United States and Kansai International Airport (KIX), Osaka, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,919 miles (or 11,136 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 William P. Hobby Airport and Kansai 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 William P. Hobby Airport and Kansai 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 William P. Hobby Airport (HOU):

• Airline flights resumed at Hobby in 1971.
• William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) has 4 runways.
• Houston is a focus city for Southwest Airlines, and was the seventh-largest city in Southwest's network as of 2013.
• In addition to being known as "William P. Hobby Airport", another name for HOU is "Houston Hobby".
• Because of William P. Hobby Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at William P. Hobby 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 1967 the airport was renamed after former Texas governor William P.
• Developments at Hobby in the 2000s include a new concourse to serve Southwest Airlines, designed by Leo A Daly and the upgrade of Runway 4/22.
• The airport covers 1,304 acres and has four runways.
• William P. Hobby Airport handled 9,054,001 passengers last year.
• The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas, or METRO, stops at Curbzone 13.
• The closest airport to William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) ESE of HOU.
• The furthest airport from William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,002 miles (17,706 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Kansai International Airport (KIX):

• Kansai International Airport (KIX) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Kansai International Airport", other names for KIX include "関西国際空港" and "Kansai Kokusai Kūkō".
• Because of Kansai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Kansai 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.
• Since July 2008, Osaka Prefecture governor Toru Hashimoto has been a vocal critic of Itami Airport, arguing that the Chuo Shinkansen maglev line will make much of its domestic role irrelevant, and that its domestic functions should be transferred to Kansai Airport in conjunction with upgraded high-speed access to Kansai from central Osaka.
• An artificial island, 4 km long and 2.5 km wide, was proposed.
• As of 2008, the total cost of Kansai Airport was $20 billion including land reclamation, two runways, terminals and facilities.
• On 17 January 1995, Japan was struck by the Kobe earthquake, whose epicenter was about 20 km away from KIX and killed 6,434 people on Japan's main island of Honshū.
• The initial plan called for completion in fiscal year 2015, but NKIAC announced in July 2013 that completion would be postponed by one year due to Jetstar Japan canceling plans to establish a second domestic base at KIX, as well as decreased traffic to and from the People's Republic of China due to recent issues in Sino-Japanese relations.
• The furthest airport from Kansai International Airport (KIX) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,980 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kansai International Airport (KIX) is Kobe Airport (UKB), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) N of KIX.
• The merger of the Itami and Kansai airport authorities was completed in July 2012.