Nonstop flight route between Saga, Kyūshū, Japan and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Saga Airport (HSG), Saga, Kyūshū, Japan and McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,291 miles (or 8,515 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 Saga Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB, 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 Saga Airport and McChord Field/McChord AFB. 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 Saga Airport (HSG):

• Saga Airport is an airport in the Kawasoe area of Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan.
• ANA currently operates a 767 freighter on an overnight Kansai-Haneda-Saga-Kansai route on weeknights only.
• The closest airport to Saga Airport (HSG) is Nagasaki Airport (NGS), which is located 28 miles (45 kilometers) SW of HSG.
• Saga Airport (HSG) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2004, the airport's hours were extended to allow service between midnight and 4 a.m., and ANA began overnight cargo service between Saga and Tokyo, initially using passenger aircraft but switching to Boeing 767 freighter aircraft in 2006.
• In addition to being known as "Saga Airport", other names for HSG include "佐賀空港" and "Saga-kūkō".
• The airport accommodated 313,200 outbound domestic passengers in 2012.
• The furthest airport from Saga Airport (HSG) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is nearly antipodal to Saga Airport (meaning Saga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Rio Grande Regional Airport), and is located 12,275 miles (19,755 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Saga Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Saga 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.

Facts about McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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.
• With the departure of the 17th Bomb Group, the mission of McChord Field became supporting the Army Air Forces Training Command's mission of training of units, crews, and individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations.
• Other wing components are the 62d Maintenance Group, 62d Mission Support Group and 62d Medical Squadron.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• In 1958, a Semi Automatic Ground Environment Data Center, and Combat Center was established at McChord.
• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• The 62nd Troop Carrier Wing was reassigned to the Military Air Transport Service Continental Division on 1 July 1957 as TAC realigned its transport units.