Nonstop flight route between Hulhulé Island, Maldives and Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE), Hulhulé Island, Maldives and Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,456 miles (or 7,171 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 Ibrahim Nasir International 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 Ibrahim Nasir International 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 Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE):

• In 2010, Government of Maldives appointed IFC to run the bidding process for the privatisation of the airport.
• The airport came 5th in a survey conducted by PrivateFly during October and November 2011, to find the world's best airport approaches.
• On 28 July 2010, a public-private partnership in managing the airport was signed between the Maldivian government and officials of GMR Group and Malaysia Airports, leasing the airport to the consortium for 25 years, with the new operator's mission being to develop MIA into a global standard airport by the year 2014.
• The furthest airport from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Seymour Airport (GPS), which is located 11,289 miles (18,168 kilometers) away in Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
• Because of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Ibrahim Nasir 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.
• The closest airport to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) is Villa International Airport (VAM), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of MLE.
• In late 2012, the government of Maldives declared that the concession agreement was void ab initio and on 27 November 2012 gave GMIAL a deadline of 7 days to evict the airport'.
• Ibrahim Nasir International first started out as a small strip of land in the then inhabited island of Hulhulé.
• 1Some of these flights make an intermediate stop in Colombo, but Turkish Airlines does not have traffic rights solely between Male and Colombo.
• When the tourism industry in the Maldives began in 1972, the country was in need of an international standard airport to transport tourists to the resort islands.
• On 26 July 2011, Male' International Airport was officially renamed as 'Ibrahim Nasir International Airport' in memory of Ibrahim Nasir, 2nd President of the Maldives.
• Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (MLE) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Ibrahim Nasir International Airport", another name for MLE is "އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިގެބަނދަރު".

Facts about Kobe Airport (UKB):

• In addition to being known as "Kobe Airport", other names for UKB include "神戸空港" and "Kōbe Kūkō".
• Kobe Airport (UKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airport finally opened on February 16, 2006, with Japan Airlines operating the first flight and All Nippon Airways operating the first scheduled flight.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of 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.