Nonstop flight route between Rochester, Minnesota, United States and Yamagata, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rochester International Airport (RST), Rochester, Minnesota, United States and Shonai Airport (SYO), Yamagata, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,857 miles (or 9,425 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 International Airport and Shonai 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 Rochester International Airport and Shonai 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 Rochester International Airport (RST):

• In 1960 it was decided to replace Lobb Field with a new airport southwest of the town because it could not be expanded to accommodate the larger airliners & was too close to the urban area of Rochester.
• In 1940, the existing runways were paved, and additional land was acquired, bringing the airport's total area to 370 acres.
• The furthest airport from Rochester International Airport (RST) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,811 miles (17,399 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Rochester International Airport (RST) has 2 runways.
• On June 17, 2010, a small aircraft crashed a half-mile north of the runway, killing all three passengers.
• The closest airport to Rochester International Airport (RST) is Austin Municipal Airport (AUM), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SW of RST.
• AirMed, an international medical airline, uses Rochester International Airport as one of three primary hubs.

Facts about Shonai Airport (SYO):

• In December 2012, an ANA flight landing from Tokyo overran the runway at Shonai.
• In addition to being known as "Shonai Airport", other names for SYO include "庄内空港" and "Shonai Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Shonai Airport (SYO) is Yamagata Airport (GAJ), which is located 42 miles (67 kilometers) SE of SYO.
• The airport opened in 1991 after lobbying efforts by local chambers of commerce, as the area was highly isolated from the major cities of Tokyo and Osaka, requiring half a day of travel to reach either.
• Seiko Epson has also used the airport for weekly employee charter flights to and from Matsumoto since 1997.
• The furthest airport from Shonai Airport (SYO) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,620 miles (18,701 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Shonai Airport (SYO) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Shonai Airport's relatively low elevation of 72 feet, planes can take off or land at Shonai 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.