Nonstop flight route between Osaka, Japan and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Osaka International Airport (OSA), Osaka, Japan and Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,887 miles (or 11,083 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 Osaka International Airport and Northwest Alabama Regional 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 Osaka International Airport and Northwest Alabama Regional 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 Osaka International Airport (OSA):

• New Kansai International Airport Corporation, which owns both Itami Airport and Kansai Airport, plans to sell operating concessions for both airports during fiscal year 2014 in order to repay Kansai Airport's outstanding debt burden of 1.2 trillion yen.
• Osaka International Airport (OSA) has 2 runways.
• In May 1968, a group of local citizens decided to sue the government for damages related to noise pollution from Itami Airport.
• Itami Airport opened as No.
• In addition to being known as "Osaka International Airport", other names for OSA include "Itami International Airport", "大阪国際空港", "Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō", "ITM" and "RJOO".
• The closest airport to Osaka International Airport (OSA) is Osaka International Airport (ITM), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of OSA.
• While Japan's economy was growing rapidly, the area around Itami Airport became an increasingly dense residential area for commuters to Osaka.
• The furthest airport from Osaka International Airport (OSA) 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.
• 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.
• The policy of the Japanese government has been to limit operations at Itami in order to spur development at Kansai and Kobe.

Facts about Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):

• Northwest Alabama Regional Airport covers an area of 640 acres at an elevation of 551 feet above mean sea level.
• Prior to summer 2009, Muscle Shoals was served from Northwest Airlines' hub in Memphis via Northwest Airlink turboprop service operated by Mesaba Airlines.
• The closest airport to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of MSL.
• The furthest airport from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,143 miles (17,932 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
• The airport was opened in February 1940, however in 1942 it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II pilot training military airfield.
• Because of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 551 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Alabama Regional 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.
• Historically, Muscle Shoals was served by Southern Airways which operated Douglas DC-9-10 and DC-9-30 jetliners on nonstop and direct flights to Atlanta.