Nonstop flight route between Avarua, Cook Islands and Itami (near Osaka), Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rarotonga International Airport (RAR), Avarua, Cook Islands and Osaka International Airport (ITM), Itami (near Osaka), Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,741 miles (or 9,240 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 Rarotonga International Airport and Osaka International 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 Rarotonga International Airport and Osaka International 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 Rarotonga International Airport (RAR):

• Because of Rarotonga International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Rarotonga 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 closest airport to Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Mangaia Island Airport (MGS), which is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) ESE of RAR.
• Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Rarotonga International Airport (RAR) is Faya-Largeau Airport (FYT), which is nearly antipodal to Rarotonga International Airport (meaning Rarotonga International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Faya-Largeau Airport), and is located 12,199 miles (19,632 kilometers) away in Faya-Largeau, Chad.
• An $8.5m reconstruction project commenced in 2009 to revamp and expand the existing terminal facilities.
• Air New Zealand Boeing 777 at Rarotonga
• Air Rarotonga Saab 340 and Embraer Bandeirante

Facts about Osaka International Airport (ITM):

• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Osaka International Airport (OSA), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of ITM.
• The furthest airport from Osaka International Airport (ITM) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In its heyday Itami was served by a variety of major international carriers, including Pan Am, British Airways, Air India, Cathay Pacific and Korean Air.
• In February 1974, the Osaka District Court issued a qualified ruling in favor of the plaintiffs which limited the scope of their damages.
• Osaka International Airport (ITM) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Osaka International Airport", other names for ITM include "Itami International Airport", "大阪国際空港" and "Ōsaka Kokusai Kūkō".