Nonstop flight route between Itami (near Osaka), Japan and Rhine, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Osaka International Airport (ITM), Itami (near Osaka), Japan and Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ), Rhine, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,656 miles (or 9,102 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 Osaka International Airport and Rheine-Bentlage Air Base, 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 Osaka International Airport and Rheine-Bentlage Air Base. 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 Osaka International Airport (ITM):

• Because of the political friction surrounding Itami, planners began work in the 1970s to relocate many of its flights to an offshore location.
• Osaka International Airport (ITM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Osaka International Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Osaka 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.
• Construction began in July 1936 on a 53 ha site.
• In September 2013, NKIAC announced that it would acquire Osaka Airport Terminal Co.
• The closest airport to Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Osaka International Airport (OSA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ITM.
• Itami was renamed Osaka Airport following its return to Japanese control in March 1959.
• The furthest airport from Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Osaka International Airport", other names for ITM include "Itami International Airport", "大阪国際空港" and "Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō".
• The only direct rail connection to the airport is the Osaka Monorail, which stops in the northern suburbs of Osaka, connecting to the Hankyu Takarazuka Line at Hotarugaike and the Kita-Osaka Kyuko Railway at Senri-Chuo.

Facts about Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ):

• In 1974, the CH-53 replaced the by now obsolete Sikorsky H-34 and has been in service ever since.
• The closest airport to Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) is Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) SE of ZPQ.
• The furthest airport from Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,825 miles (19,030 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Since unification of Germany in 1990, units from Rheine were deployed in as various part as the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan under the auspices of either NATO, the UN or the EU.
• In addition to being known as "Rheine-Bentlage Air Base", another name for ZPQ is "(Advanced Landing Ground B-108)".
• In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces.
• Because of Rheine-Bentlage Air Base's relatively low elevation of 128 feet, planes can take off or land at Rheine-Bentlage Air Base 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.
• Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ) currently has only 1 runway.