Nonstop flight route between Okinawa, Japan and Ruislip, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Naha Airport (OKA), Okinawa, Japan and RAF Northolt (NHT), Ruislip, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,211 miles (or 9,996 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 Naha Airport and RAF Northolt, 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 Naha Airport and RAF Northolt. 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 Naha Airport (OKA):

• The hub began operations in 2009.
• In addition to being known as "Naha Airport", other names for OKA include "那覇空港" and "Naha Kūkō".
• The airport was closed for refurbishment between 1952 and 1954.
• Naha Airport (OKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Naha Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Naha 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.
• Peach, a low cost carrier based at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, announced that it would establish its second hub at Naha in July 2014, which would initially have flights to Osaka, Fukuoka, Ishigaki and Taipei.ANA Holdings, the parent company of both Peach and Vanilla Air, opened a new LCC terminal in a refurbished portion of the airport's cargo area in October 2012, and plans to open new international facilities in October 2014.
• The closest airport to Naha Airport (OKA) is Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) NE of OKA.
• The furthest airport from Naha Airport (OKA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Naha Airport (meaning Naha Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,392 miles (19,943 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.

Facts about RAF Northolt (NHT):

• Attention was high again in 2001 when Ronnie Biggs, the seriously ill, fugitive Great Train Robber, was flown from Brazil to the airfield to be arrested by waiting police officers.
• The closest airport to RAF Northolt (NHT) is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) SSW of NHT.
• RAF Northolt became home to Prime Minister Winston Churchill's personal aircraft, a modified Douglas C-54 Skymaster, in June 1944.
• The furthest airport from RAF Northolt (NHT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,871 miles (19,105 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The outbreak of the First World War necessitated a new aerodrome for the Royal Flying Corps.
• Following Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909, the British Army considered the necessity of defending the United Kingdom from a future air attack.
• In January 2012, it was reported that the future of station was under review by the Ministry of Defence as part of efforts to reduce defence spending.