Nonstop flight route between Santa Ana, California, United States and Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States and Komatsu Airport (KMQ), Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,639 miles (or 9,075 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 MCAS El Toro and Komatsu 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 MCAS El Toro and Komatsu 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 MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California.
• Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro 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 1993, MCAS El Toro was designated for closing by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and all of its activities were to be transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
• The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Those against the airport proposal were largely residents of the cities in the immediate vicinity of El Toro, such as Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Dana Point, and Mission Viejo, where residents were alarmed at the idea of the aircraft noise.
• The battle between pro-airport and anti-airport groups dominated Orange County politics for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.

Facts about Komatsu Airport (KMQ):

• In addition to being known as "Komatsu Airport", other names for KMQ include "小松飛行場" and "Komatsu Hikōjō".
• Komatsu Airport is an airport located 4.2 km west southwest of Komatsu Station in the city of Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
• The closest airport to Komatsu Airport (KMQ) is Fukui Airport (FKJ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) SSW of KMQ.
• The furthest airport from Komatsu Airport (KMQ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,864 miles (19,093 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• The base was handed over to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in 1958 and designated as a jet fighter base in 1960.
• The airport was originally a base of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
• Because of Komatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Komatsu 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.
• Komatsu Airport (KMQ) currently has only 1 runway.