Nonstop flight route between Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan and Shelton, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan and Sanderson Field (SHN), Shelton, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,993 miles (or 8,036 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 Kobe Airport and Sanderson Field, 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 Kobe Airport and Sanderson Field. 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 Kobe Airport (UKB):

• The airport finally opened on February 16, 2006, with Japan Airlines operating the first flight and All Nippon Airways operating the first scheduled flight.
• Kobe is already the most indebted municipality in Japan with debts of over ¥3 trillion, and this project's cost has made it very controversial.
• The city government of Kobe first proposed an airport adjacent to Port Island in 1971.
• Kobe businesses were still interested in the plan, however, and pressed the city government to propose a smaller facility with one 3,000 m runway.
• The closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of UKB.
• The furthest airport from Kobe Airport (UKB) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,976 miles (19,273 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Kobe Airport", other names for UKB include "神戸空港" and "Kōbe Kūkō".
• Kobe Airport (UKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2013, Kobe mayor Tatsuo Yada endorsed a proposal to consolidate the management of the three Kansai region airports by adding Kobe Airport to the planned sale in 2014 of operating concessions at Itami and Kansai, although the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported this to be unlikely given the advanced state of negotiations surrounding the concessions.
• Because of Kobe Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Kobe 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.

Facts about Sanderson Field (SHN):

• Because of Sanderson Field's relatively low elevation of 273 feet, planes can take off or land at Sanderson Field 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.
• The furthest airport from Sanderson Field (SHN) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,810 miles (17,397 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Services at Sanderson include minor airframe and powerplant repair by Olympic Air.
• The closest airport to Sanderson Field (SHN) is Olympia Regional Airport (OLM), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of SHN.
• Sanderson Field (SHN) currently has only 1 runway.