Nonstop flight route between Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan and Kenema, Sierra Leone:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO), Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, Japan and Kenema Airport (KEN), Kenema, Sierra Leone would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,517 miles (or 15,316 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 and Kenema 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 and Kenema 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 Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO):

• Located south and west of the midpoint between Tokyo and Saipan, the island of Iwo Jima was needed by the United States Army Air Forces Twentieth Air Force as an emergency landing facility for its B-29 Superfortress strategic bombing campaign against the Empire of Japan.
• The furthest airport from Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Cabo Frio International Airport (CFB), which is nearly antipodal to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (meaning Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cabo Frio International Airport), and is located 12,187 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Today, the base is the only airfield on the island, operated by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
• United States Marines landed on Iwo Jima February 19, 1945.
• The closest airport to Central Field (Iwo Jima)Motoyama No. 2Airfield No. 2 (IWO) is Hachijojima Airport (HAC), which is located 583 miles (938 kilometers) N of IWO.
• Central Field was also the headquarters for VII Fighter Command from March 1 – December 1, 1945, along with the intelligence-gathering 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron from August though mid-September 1945.
• Central Field stayed in American hands until being turned over to the Japanese Government on 27 June 1968.

Facts about Kenema Airport (KEN):

• Kenema Airport (KEN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kenema Airport (KEN) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Kenema Airport (meaning Kenema Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,031 miles (19,362 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.
• The closest airport to Kenema Airport (KEN) is Bo Airport (KBS), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) W of KEN.
• Because of Kenema Airport's relatively low elevation of 485 feet, planes can take off or land at Kenema 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.