Nonstop flight route between Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan and Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wakkanai Airport (WKJ), Wakkanai, Hokkaido, Japan and London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,337 miles (or 8,589 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 Wakkanai Airport and London Stansted 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 Wakkanai Airport and London Stansted 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 Wakkanai Airport (WKJ):

• Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Wakkanai Airport opened to passenger traffic in 1960, initially on an irregular basis.
• The closest airport to Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) is Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE), which is located 109 miles (176 kilometers) SE of WKJ.
• Because of Wakkanai Airport's relatively low elevation of 27 feet, planes can take off or land at Wakkanai 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 Wakkanai Airport (WKJ) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,446 miles (18,420 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• In addition to being known as "Wakkanai Airport", other names for WKJ include "稚内空港" and "Wakkanai Kūkō".

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• The airfield opened in 1943 and was used during the Second World War as RAF Stansted Mountfitchet by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber airfield and as a major maintenance depot.
• In 1984, the government approved a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year.
• In 2008 57 people were arrested after Plane Stupid, the environmental activist group, broke through the barriers and created a 'stockade' on a taxiway which resulted in 52 flights being cancelled.
• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted 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.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• The Competition Commission ruled in March 2009 that BAA should sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports within two years.
• The top international destinations served by Stansted airport are in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.