Nonstop flight route between Moscow, Russia and Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vnukovo International Airport (VKO), Moscow, Russia and Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,570 miles (or 7,354 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 Vnukovo International Airport and Kobe 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 Vnukovo International Airport and Kobe 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 Vnukovo International Airport (VKO):

• Because of Vnukovo International Airport's relatively low elevation of 686 feet, planes can take off or land at Vnukovo 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.
• The closest airport to Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) is Ostafyevo International Airport (OSF), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) ESE of VKO.
• In addition to being known as "Vnukovo International Airport", another name for VKO is "Международный Аэропорт Внуково".
• The airfield has two intersecting runways of 3,000 metres and 3,060 metres in length.
• Of the three Moscow airports, Vnukovo is the highest.
• The expansion plans include lengthening one of the two V-configured runways to 3,800 m and upgrading the instrument landing system from the present CAT II to CAT III.
• The airport can handle a maximum of 10,100 passengers per hour, and 4,000 people are employed there.
• Several taxi services to Moscow city and suburbs are available at the airport.
• Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) has 2 runways.
• Vnukovo International Airport handled 11,175,100 passengers last year.
• Vnukovo is Europe’s busiest airport for international flights by larger private planes.
• On 4 November 1957, a plane carrying Romanian Workers' Party officials, including the most prominent politicians of Communist Romania, was involved in an accident at Vnukovo Airport.
• On 15 September 1956, the Tupolev Tu-104 jetliner made its first passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Irkutsk via Omsk.
• The furthest airport from Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,747 miles (17,296 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Kobe Airport (UKB):

• The closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of UKB.
• The city government of Kobe first proposed an airport adjacent to Port Island in 1971.
• 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.
• 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.
• Kobe Airport is connected to Kansai Airport by the Kobe-Kanku Bay Shuttle, a high speed ferry which completes the airport-to-airport journey in 29 minutes for ¥1,500.
• 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.
• As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, JAL terminated all services out of Kobe and closed its office on June 1, 2010, in response to which Skymark Airlines announced a major expansion at the airport.
• In addition to being known as "Kobe Airport", other names for UKB include "神戸空港" and "Kōbe Kūkō".
• The Transport Ministry has capped scheduled domestic operations at 30 daily flights, and has banned international flights with the exception of private aircraft and "own use" charters, in order to prevent overcrowding in the area's airspace and to protect the growth of Kansai Airport.
• 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.
• Kobe Airport (UKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport finally opened on February 16, 2006, with Japan Airlines operating the first flight and All Nippon Airways operating the first scheduled flight.