Nonstop flight route between Spangdahlem, Germany and Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany and Kitadaito Airport (KTD), Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,193 miles (or 9,967 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 Spangdahlem Air Base and Kitadaito 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 Spangdahlem Air Base and Kitadaito 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 Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• The 23 TFS carried out tactical fighter training missions, while the 39 TEWS was a deployed squadron from Shaw AFB, South Carolina to conduct electronic warfare missions and train tactical reconnaissance and electronic warfare crews in Europe.
• The furthest airport from Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,986 miles (19,289 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Air Mobility Command 726th Air Mobility Squadron at Spangdahlem supports cargo and passenger traffic as part of its airlift mission, providing command and control, maintenance and aerial port capability to all AMC aircraft transiting their ramp.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".
• The 726th AMS utilizes various aircraft maintenance equipment, de-icers, mission vehicles and aircraft loaders.
• In 1957 the RB-57s and RF-84s were transferred to Chateauroux-Deols Air Depot and the 1st and 38th were re-equipped with the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer.
• The 19th TRS operated from RAF Sculthorpe united Kingdom during 1958, moving to Spangdahlem in 1959.

Facts about Kitadaito Airport (KTD):

• The prefecture operates the airport, which is classified as a third class airport.
• The furthest airport from Kitadaito Airport (KTD) is Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport (JOI), which is nearly antipodal to Kitadaito Airport (meaning Kitadaito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport), and is located 12,416 miles (19,982 kilometers) away in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Kitadaito Airport (KTD) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SSW of KTD.
• Kitadaito Airport (KTD) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Kitadaito Airport", other names for KTD include "北大東空港" and "Kitadaitō Kūkō".
• Because of Kitadaito Airport's relatively low elevation of 71 feet, planes can take off or land at Kitadaito 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.
• Kitadaito Airport was opened in 1971 as an emergency 760 meter airstrip, constructed of crushed coral by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands.