Nonstop flight route between Whakatane, New Zealand and Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Whakatane Airport (WHK), Whakatane, New Zealand and Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,681 miles (or 9,142 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane 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 Whakatane Airport (WHK):

• Because of Whakatane Airport's relatively low elevation of 20 feet, planes can take off or land at Whakatane 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 furthest airport from Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Whakatane Airport (meaning Whakatane Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,374 miles (19,913 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• The closest airport to Whakatane Airport (WHK) is Rotorua International Airport (ROT), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) WSW of WHK.
• Whakatane Airport (WHK) has 2 runways.

Facts about Kobe Airport (UKB):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Airport (UKB) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 is already the most indebted municipality in Japan with debts of over ¥3 trillion, and this project's cost has made it very controversial.
• In addition to being known as "Kobe Airport", other names for UKB include "神戸空港" and "Kōbe Kūkō".
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of UKB.