Nonstop flight route between Niigata, Japan and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Niigata Airport (KIJ), Niigata, Japan and Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,568 miles (or 8,961 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 Niigata Airport and Grand Forks 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 Niigata Airport and Grand Forks 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 Niigata Airport (KIJ):

• The airport saw several major service expansions in the spring of 2012, when China Eastern Airlines, Fuji Dream Airlines and All Nippon Airways announced service to Shanghai, Nagoya and Narita respectively.
• Niigata Airport is a second class airport located 6.7 km northeast of Niigata Station in Niigata, Japan.
• The furthest airport from Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,682 miles (18,800 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Niigata Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Niigata 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 addition to being known as "Niigata Airport", other names for KIJ include "新潟空港" and "Niigata Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Shonai Airport (SYO), which is located 70 miles (112 kilometers) NNE of KIJ.
• Niigata Airport (KIJ) has 2 runways.
• Niigata Airport was historically an important gateway for traffic to and from Russia, with scheduled service to Khabarovsk since 1973 and Vladivostok since 1993, which among other purposes were used to export Niigata-area agricultural products to Russia.

Facts about Grand Forks International Airport (GFK):

• The consulting group recommended that a brand new passenger terminal would the best solution to the current terminal's problems.
• On October 3, 2012, United Airlines started flights between Denver, CO and Grand Forks, but on September 10, 2013 they announced they would end service on December 3, 2013 citing low loads.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,514 miles (16,921 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) is Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) W of GFK.
• KGFK is a non-hub, primary commercial service airport.
• Because of Grand Forks International Airport's relatively low elevation of 845 feet, planes can take off or land at Grand Forks 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.
• Grand Forks International Airport (GFK) has 4 runways.
• In 2009 the airport's FAA control tower was the 23rd busiest in the nation, with 346,165 tower operations.
• On November 9, 2010 KGFK had 100,570 boardings, one more than the record achieved in 12 months in 1994.
• GFK Flight Support, the fixed base operator at the airport, completed construction of a new $4.5 million facility in Fall 2008.