Nonstop flight route between Shimojishima, Japan and Aviano, Pordenone, Italy:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shimojishima Airport (SHI), Shimojishima, Japan and Aviano Air Base (AVB), Aviano, Pordenone, Italy would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,978 miles (or 9,621 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 Shimojishima Airport and Aviano Air Base, 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 Shimojishima Airport and Aviano Air Base. 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 Shimojishima Airport (SHI):

• In 2004, there were some protests over the use of the airport as a refueling stop by USMC helicopters returning from an exercise in the Philippines.
• Shimojishima Airport (SHI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Shimojishima Airport", other names for SHI include "下地島空港" and "Shimojishima Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Shimojishima Airport (SHI) is Miyako Airport (MMY), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of SHI.
• Because of Shimojishima Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Shimojishima 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.
• In the anime Stratos 4, set in an alternate timeline, Shimojishima Airport had become Shimoji airbase sometime after the year 1984.
• The furthest airport from Shimojishima Airport (SHI) is Guaraní International Airport (AGT), which is nearly antipodal to Shimojishima Airport (meaning Shimojishima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guaraní International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,945 kilometers) away in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.

Facts about Aviano Air Base (AVB):

• To avoid losing the wing’s heritage and history as the highest scoring Army Air Force unit in the Mediterranean Theater in WWII, the impressive combat record in Vietnam and number of significant firsts they produced in the early years of the Air Force, the 31 FW was chosen to move rather than fade into obscurity.
• Aviano Air Base was established by the Italian government in 1911, and was used as training base for Italian pilots and construction facility for aircraft parts.
• Simultaneously, the 555th deployed personnel and aircraft to Decimomannu AB, Sardinia while the runway at Aviano closed for repairs.
• The 31FW received two new squadrons at that time, the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons, along with their Block-40 F-16s.
• The furthest airport from Aviano Air Base (AVB) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,968 miles (19,261 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On August 24, 1992, when Hurricane Andrew swept across southern Florida, leaving extensive damage in its wake.
• The closest airport to Aviano Air Base (AVB) is Belluno Airport (BLX), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) WNW of AVB.
• In addition to being known as "Aviano Air Base", another name for AVB is "Aviano AB".