Nonstop flight route between Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK), Prestwick (near Glasgow), Scotland, United Kingdom and Naha Airport (OKA), Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,130 miles (or 9,866 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Naha 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport and Naha 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 Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK):

• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport handled 1,145,836 passengers last year.
• On 6 July 2005, Prestwick Airport became the entry point for the participants in the 31st G8 summit held in Gleneagles.
• The airport was owned by Infratil, a New Zealand company and majority owner of Wellington International Airport Infratil also owned Manston Airport until November 2013.
• The United States Air Force operated a base in 1952 on the site of the original airport using former Royal Air Force facilities 1631st Air Base Squadron), and in 1953 on the Monkton side of the airport, both used by the USAF MATS.
• Because of Glasgow-Prestwick Airport's relatively low elevation of 65 feet, planes can take off or land at Glasgow-Prestwick 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.
• Glasgow Prestwick Airport is considered to be the only piece of United Kingdom territory on which Elvis Presley ever set foot, when the United States Army transport plane carrying him home stopped to refuel in 1960, en route from Germany.
• The majority of cargo carriers operates Boeing 747-400F aircraft to and from Prestwick.
• Today, part of the Prestwick site is occupied by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm with RNAS Prestwick, where a detachment of 3 Sea Kings provide a search and rescue role, covering one of the largest SAR areas of the UK including Ben Nevis, the Lakes, Northern Ireland and 200 NM past the Irish coast.
• Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Glasgow International Airport (GLA), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) NNE of PIK.
• The furthest airport from Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,764 miles (18,932 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about Naha Airport (OKA):

• The airport was closed for refurbishment between 1952 and 1954.
• The airport was a popular connecting point between Taipei and Shanghai prior to the opening of direct flights between mainland China and Taiwan.
• The basic and detailed design engineering works in addition to the later construction management phase of the main passenger terminal were awarded in the 1990s in part to the Japan Branch of the American design-build engineering company, The Austin Company, which joined Japanese firms in a joint venture design consortium.
• The hub began operations in 2009.
• 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.
• 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.
• Naha Airport (OKA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Naha Airport", other names for OKA include "那覇空港" and "Naha Kūkō".
• Congested Naha Airport served 14,495,054 passengers in FY2006, roughly similar numbers in 2012.
• Oroku Aerodrome, an Imperial Japanese Navy airfield, opened in 1933.
• 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.