Nonstop flight route between Sacramento, California, United States and Niigata, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sacramento International Airport (SMF), Sacramento, California, United States and Niigata Airport (KIJ), Niigata, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,074 miles (or 8,166 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 Sacramento International Airport and Niigata 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 Sacramento International Airport and Niigata 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 Sacramento International Airport (SMF):

• Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and Trans World Airlines were added to the list of carriers at Sacramento.
• The furthest airport from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,280 miles (18,154 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Sacramento International Airport (SMF) has 2 runways.
• Sacramento County has tried to entice Virgin America into adding a Los Angeles route by giving them 400,000 dollars to operate out of terminal A or 150,000 dollars to operate in terminal B.
• Because of Sacramento International Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Sacramento 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.
• Sacramento International Airport handled 8,910,570 passengers last year.
• As the nation’s economy was taking a hit in 2008, commercial aviation was challenged by reduced passenger numbers and increasing fuel and other costs.
• The closest airport to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is Sacramento Airport McClellan Airfield (MCC), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of SMF.
• Long dominated by Southwest and United, the intra-California market was joined in 2011 by American and Delta which fly from Los Angeles International Airport.
• In 2011 the airport carried an estimated 9 million passengers.

Facts about Niigata Airport (KIJ):

• The closest airport to Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Shonai Airport (SYO), which is located 70 miles (112 kilometers) NNE of KIJ.
• Niigata Airport (KIJ) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Niigata Airport", other names for KIJ include "新潟空港" and "Niigata Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Niigata Airport (KIJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,682 miles (18,800 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Niigata Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Niigata 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.