Nonstop flight route between Kulusuk, Greenland and Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kulusuk Airport (KUS), Kulusuk, Greenland and Naha Airport (OKA), Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,045 miles (or 9,728 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 Kulusuk Airport and Naha 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 Kulusuk Airport and Naha 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 Kulusuk Airport (KUS):

• Kulusuk Airport handled 14,738 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Kulusuk Airport (KUS) is Tasiilaq Heliport (AGM), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) W of KUS.
• There is no deicing equipment at the airport, which is costly and problematic in Greenlandic winter.
• Kulusuk Airport (KUS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kulusuk Airport (KUS) is Hobart International Airport (HBA), which is located 10,856 miles (17,471 kilometers) away in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
• The are political discussions on building a new airport at Tasiilaq, the major settlement in the region, and to close the Kulusuk Airport.
• Because of Kulusuk Airport's relatively low elevation of 117 feet, planes can take off or land at Kulusuk 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.
• Given the increasing number of passengers travelling through the airport due to connections provided by Air Iceland, both domestic to Nerlerit Inaat Airport and international to Iceland, the number of fixed-schedule helicopter flights to Tasiilaq is not sufficient to cover demand, due to a single Bell 212 helicopter of Air Greenland stationed at the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Kulusuk Airport", another name for KUS is "Mittarfik Kulusuk".

Facts about Naha Airport (OKA):

• The airport was closed for refurbishment between 1952 and 1954.
• Congested Naha Airport served 14,495,054 passengers in FY2006, roughly similar numbers in 2012.
• The furthest airport from Naha Airport (OKA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Naha Airport (meaning Naha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Naha Airport (OKA) is Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) NE of OKA.
• Because of Naha Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Naha 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 hub began operations in 2009.
• Naha Airport (OKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The basic and detailed design engineering works in addition to the later construction management phase of the main passenger terminal were awarded in the 1990s in part to the Japan Branch of the American design-build engineering company, The Austin Company, which joined Japanese firms in a joint venture design consortium.
• In addition to being known as "Naha Airport", other names for OKA include "那覇空港" and "Naha Kūkō".
• Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972.