Nonstop flight route between Minot, North Dakota, United States and Itami (near Osaka), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States and Osaka International Airport (ITM), Itami (near Osaka), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,709 miles (or 9,188 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 Minot Air Force Base and Osaka 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 Minot Air Force Base and Osaka 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 Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• A Semi Automatic Ground Environment facility was built and activated in June 1961.
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.
• The 862d Combat Support Group was deactivated on 31 July 1972, with host unit duties being taken over by the 91st Combat Support Group.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 30 August 2007, a B-52 took off from Minot AFB carrying six cruise missiles with W-80 nuclear warheads to Barksdale AFB in northwest Louisiana.
• Originally opened in 1957 as an Air Defense Command base, Minot AFB became a major Strategic Air Command base in the early 1960s, with both nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and manned bombers and aerial refueling aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• In July 1968, the 450th Bombardment Wing and 455th Strategic Missile Wing were inactivated, being from Travis AFB, California, when jurisdiction of Travis was assumed by the Military Airlift Command and the 91st Strategic Missile Wing from Glasgow AFB, Montana, when it closed.

Facts about Osaka International Airport (ITM):

• Jet flights at Itami began on June 1, 1964, and triggered complaints by neighboring residents about noise pollution.
• Osaka International Airport (ITM) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Despite its "international" designation, the airport's scheduled passenger air traffic is entirely domestic.
• New Kansai International Airport Corporation plans to renovate the terminal by spring 2020, in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, at a cost of 18 billion yen.
• There were originally plans to close Itami Airport following the opening of Kansai, but nearby communities opposed such a move for economic reasons, so Itami was retained as a domestic-only airport after Kansai opened in 1994.
• Because of Osaka International Airport's relatively low elevation of 39 feet, planes can take off or land at Osaka 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 September 2013, NKIAC announced that it would acquire Osaka Airport Terminal Co.
• The policy of the Japanese government has been to limit operations at Itami in order to spur development at Kansai and Kobe.
• In addition to being known as "Osaka International Airport", other names for ITM include "Itami International Airport", "大阪国際空港" and "Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Osaka International Airport (OSA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ITM.