Nonstop flight route between León, Spain and Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between León Airport (LEN), León, Spain and Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,557 miles (or 10,552 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 León Airport and Kobe 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 León Airport and Kobe 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 León Airport (LEN):

• In 2007 a 3000 m new runway was inaugurated.
• In the 1940s an aviation school was installed in the facilities, where the first pilots graduated at the General Aviation School.
• León Airport (LEN) has 2 runways.
• León Airport handled 30,890 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from León Airport (LEN) is Kaikoura Aerodrome (KBZ), which is nearly antipodal to León Airport (meaning León Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Kaikoura Aerodrome), and is located 12,397 miles (19,952 kilometers) away in Kaikoura, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "León Airport", another name for LEN is "Aeropuerto de León".
• The closest airport to León Airport (LEN) is Asturias Airport (OVD), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) NNW of LEN.

Facts about Kobe Airport (UKB):

• The Transport Ministry has capped scheduled domestic operations at 30 daily flights, and has banned international flights with the exception of private aircraft and "own use" charters, in order to prevent overcrowding in the area's airspace and to protect the growth of Kansai Airport.
• On February 2, 2006, Kobe Airport Station was connected to Sannomiya Station in central Kobe by an extension of the existing Port Liner automated guideway transit system, using 2000 series trains as well as some older 8000 series trains.
• In addition to being known as "Kobe Airport", other names for UKB include "神戸空港" and "Kōbe Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kobe Airport (UKB) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,976 miles (19,273 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of UKB.
• Kobe Airport is connected to Kansai Airport by the Kobe-Kanku Bay Shuttle, a high speed ferry which completes the airport-to-airport journey in 29 minutes for ¥1,500.
• In 2013, Kobe mayor Tatsuo Yada endorsed a proposal to consolidate the management of the three Kansai region airports by adding Kobe Airport to the planned sale in 2014 of operating concessions at Itami and Kansai, although the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported this to be unlikely given the advanced state of negotiations surrounding the concessions.
• The construction of the airport was stalled for lack of funding until 1995, when it won national government support as a means for recovering the Kobe economy in the wake of the great Hanshin earthquake.
• Because of Kobe Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kobe 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.
• Kobe Airport (UKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kobe businesses were still interested in the plan, however, and pressed the city government to propose a smaller facility with one 3,000 m runway.