Nonstop flight route between Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester Airport (RCS), Rochester, Kent, England, United Kingdom and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,188 miles (or 9,958 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 Rochester Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, 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 Rochester Airport and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. 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 Rochester Airport (RCS):

• Rochester airport was bombed heavily during the war by a wing of Dornier Do 17s on 15 August 1940.
• The closest airport to Rochester Airport (RCS) is London Southend Airport (SEN), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNE of RCS.
• Rochester Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee.
• The furthest airport from Rochester Airport (RCS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,897 miles (19,146 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Rochester City Council compulsory purchased the land at Rochester Airfield in September 1933 from the landowner as the site for a municipal airport.
• Because of Rochester Airport's relatively low elevation of 426 feet, planes can take off or land at Rochester 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.
• An invitation to tender was issued and the existing operator became the preferred bidder after the closing date of 12 March 2013.
• On 13 January 2009 a fresh lease, with conditions, was granted to Rochester Airport Operating company.
• Rochester Airport (RCS) has 3 runways.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized Lockheed C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955.
• Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the 1 April 1945, Battle of Okinawa, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the island's village of Kadena.
• The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.