Nonstop flight route between Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan and Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan and Bankstown Airport (BWU), Bankstown (near Sydney), New South Wales, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,328 miles (or 6,965 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 Minami-Daito Airport and Bankstown 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 Minami-Daito Airport and Bankstown 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 Minami-Daito Airport (MMD):

• The original Minamidaito Airport began as an air base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1934.
• Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) is Kitadaito Airport (KTD), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of MMD.
• The furthest airport from Minami-Daito Airport (MMD) is Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport (JOI), which is nearly antipodal to Minami-Daito Airport (meaning Minami-Daito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport), and is located 12,411 miles (19,973 kilometers) away in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• Because of Minami-Daito Airport's relatively low elevation of 159 feet, planes can take off or land at Minami-Daito 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 "Minami-Daito Airport", other names for MMD include "南大東空港" and "Minamidaitō Kūkō".
• Only a round flight from Naha, to Minami-Daito and Kitadaitō, back to Naha is operated everyday.
• The airport was relocated to its present location and upgraded to accommodate larger flights in July 1997 with the present 1500 meter runway.

Facts about Bankstown Airport (BWU):

• The airport offers a range of aviation and non-aviation settings with large hangars to accommodate grand scale indoor filming.
• The furthest airport from Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Santa Maria Airport (SMA), which is nearly antipodal to Bankstown Airport (meaning Bankstown Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Santa Maria Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,529 kilometers) away in Santa Maria, Portugal.
• The existing small passenger terminal at the airport is capable of handling up to 200 passengers per hour.
• Bankstown Airport operates 24 hours a day, with limitations placed on night circuit training.
• During the war, several "dummy houses" were built to make Bankstown Airport and its surrounds appear as a farm, hangars were disguised as houses with fake roads to further confuse the enemy.
• The closest airport to Bankstown Airport (BWU) is Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) E of BWU.
• The airport has three runways.
• When General MacArthur arrived in Australia, during World War II, Bankstown Airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, and was established as a key strategic air base to support the war effort in 1942.
• Bankstown Airport (BWU) has 3 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Bankstown Airport", another name for BWU is "Sydney/Bankstown Airport".
• One of its hangars is being used for the filming of Top Gear Australia, however none of the track sections were filmed at Bankstown as it is too busy.
• Because of Bankstown Airport's relatively low elevation of 34 feet, planes can take off or land at Bankstown 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.