Nonstop flight route between Monbetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan and Big Spring, Texas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE), Monbetsu, Hokkaidō, Japan and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,759 miles (or 9,268 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 Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield, 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 Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport and Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield. 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 Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE):

• The closest airport to Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE) is Memanbetsu Airport (MMB), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) SE of MBE.
• Because of Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Okhotsk Monbetsu 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 "Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport", other names for MBE include "オホーツク紋別空港" and "Ohōtsuku Monbetsu Kūkō".
• In the winter of 2013, ANA again started services to Sapporo, flying a daily 737-700 flight to New Chitose Airport.
• The furthest airport from Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,338 miles (18,247 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Monbetsu Airport or Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport, is a third class airport located 3.8 NM southeast of Monbetsu, a city in the Hokkaidō prefecture of Japan.
• Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• The closest airport to Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WSW of BGS.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• By 1960, the consolidated pilot training program meant the consolidation of preflight, primary, and basic instruction into one school.
• The base was declared surplus and was turned over to the War Assets Administration after being closed.
• The furthest airport from Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,166 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• Webb Air Force Base, previously named Big Spring Air Force Base, was a United States Air Force facility of the Air Training Command that operated from 1951 to 1977 in west Texas within the current city limits of Big Spring.
• By the mid-1970s, the end of the Vietnam War, the associated financial costs of that conflict and related cuts in USAF force structure and future defense budgets meant a marked decrease in the need for Air Force pilots.