Nonstop flight route between Koliganek, Alaska, United States and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Koliganek Airport (KGK), Koliganek, Alaska, United States and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,143 miles (or 6,668 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 Koliganek Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, 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 Koliganek Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. 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 Koliganek Airport (KGK):

• This airport opened in 1997, replacing the former airport located at 59°43′28″N 157°17′09″W / 59.72444°N 157.28583°W / 59.72444.
• Koliganek Airport (KGK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Koliganek Airport's relatively low elevation of 269 feet, planes can take off or land at Koliganek 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.
• The furthest airport from Koliganek Airport (KGK) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,660 miles (17,155 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Koliganek Airport (KGK) is New Stuyahok Airport (KNW), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) SSW of KGK.
• In addition to being known as "Koliganek Airport", other names for KGK include "Koliganek Airport (new location)" and "JZZ".
• Koliganek Airport is a state-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile east of the central business district of Koliganek, in the Dillingham Census Area of the U.S.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, this airport had 481 commercial passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, a decrease of 21% from the 606 enplanements in 2007.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.
• What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet strip of badly-damaged coral runway.
• The mission of NAVCOMM Det Okinawa is to provide communications support for SEVENTH Fleet and supporting units, U.S.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• Kadena airfield was initially under the control of Seventh Air Force, however on 16 July 1945, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was transferred, without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to the town of Sakugawa, near Kadena from RAF High Wycombe England.
• The designation of the wing changed on 1 October 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept.
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.