Nonstop flight route between North Whale Pass, Alaska, United States and Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP), North Whale Pass, Alaska, United States and Kobe Airport (UKB), Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,333 miles (or 6,973 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 North Whale Seaplane Base 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 North Whale Seaplane Base 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 North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP):

• North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 10,610 miles (17,076 kilometers) away in Port Alfred, South Africa.
• The closest airport to North Whale Seaplane Base (WWP) is Coffman Cove Seaplane Base (KCC), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ESE of WWP.
• Because of North Whale Seaplane Base's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at North Whale Seaplane Base 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 addition to being known as "North Whale Seaplane Base", another name for WWP is "96Z".

Facts about Kobe Airport (UKB):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 construction of the airport was stalled for lack of funding until 1995, when it won national government support as a means for recovering the Kobe economy in the wake of the great Hanshin earthquake.
• The city government of Kobe first proposed an airport adjacent to Port Island in 1971.
• 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 closest airport to Kobe Airport (UKB) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located only 14 miles (22 kilometers) S of UKB.
• 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.
• 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.