Nonstop flight route between Osaka, Japan and Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kansai International Airport (KIX), Osaka, Japan and United States Air Force Academy (AFF), Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,075 miles (or 9,777 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 Kansai International Airport and United States Air Force Academy, 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 Kansai International Airport and United States Air Force Academy. 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 Kansai International Airport (KIX):

• After the protests surrounding New Tokyo International Airport, which was built with expropriated land in a rural part of Chiba Prefecture, planners decided to build the airport offshore.
• Kansai International Airport (KIX) has 2 runways.
• Because of Kansai International Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Kansai 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kansai International Airport", other names for KIX include "関西国際空港" and "Kansai Kokusai Kūkō".
• In May 2011, the Diet of Japan passed legislation to form a new Kansai International Airport Corporation using the state's existing equity stake in Kansai Airport and its property holdings at Itami Airport.
• The main KIX passenger Terminal l is a single four-story building designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop and has a gross floor space of 296,043 square metres.
• The closest airport to Kansai International Airport (KIX) is Kobe Airport (UKB), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) N of KIX.
• On 17 January 1995, Japan was struck by the Kobe earthquake, whose epicenter was about 20 km away from KIX and killed 6,434 people on Japan's main island of Honshū.
• The furthest airport from Kansai International Airport (KIX) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,980 miles (19,279 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The airport authority was allotted 4 billion yen in government support for fiscal year 2013, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Ministry of Finance have agreed to reduce this amount in stages through fiscal year 2015, although local governments in the Kansai region have pressed for continued subsidies.

Facts about United States Air Force Academy (AFF):

• The closest airport to United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), which is located only 15 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of AFF.
• Support for an air academy got a boost with the National Security Act of 1947, which provided for the establishment of a separate Air Force within the United States military.
• The United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School is a program offered to selected individuals who were not able to obtain appointments directly to the Academy.
• Prior to the Academy's establishment, air power advocates had been pushing for a separate air force academy for decades.
• The Class of 1959 established many other important traditions that continue until the present.
• Many displays around the Cadet Area commemorate heroes and air power pioneers, and serve as an inspiration to cadets.
• The campus of the Academy covers 18,500 acres on the east side of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, just north of Colorado Springs.
• The United States Air Force Academy is a military academy for officer candidates for the United States Air Force.
• The furthest airport from United States Air Force Academy (AFF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,934 miles (17,596 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Candidates for admission are judged on their academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, athletics and character.
• Following the recommendation of the Board, Congress passed legislation in 1954 to begin the construction of the Air Force Academy, and President Eisenhower signed it into law on 1 April of that year.