Nonstop flight route between Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom and Kerama Airport (KJP), Kerama Islands, Okinawa, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,154 miles (or 9,904 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and Kerama 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 MDPGA Wethersfield and Kerama 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 MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• During the late 1940s the base was used as a winter camping ground for Chipperfield's Circus.
• All three wartime-era runways and connecting taxiways, as well as many wartime loop-type dispersal hardstands, remain in good condition.
• In 1951, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the British provided RAF Wethersfield to the USAF as part of their NATO commitment.
• The 416th Bombardment Group arrived at Wethersfield from Laurel Army Airfield, Mississippi, on 1 February 1944, flying the twin-engine Douglas A-20G "Havoc" aircraft.
• The 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Upper Heyford was inactivated and elements were moved to Wethersfield.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
• Wethersfield was allocated by the RAF to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force in August 1942.
• Formerly known as RAF Wethersfield, it opened in 1944.
• In 1978 the British and American Governments agreed to establish a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers unit in the UK.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.

Facts about Kerama Airport (KJP):

• Kerama Airport (KJP) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kerama Airport (KJP) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) E of KJP.
• In addition to being known as "Kerama Airport", other names for KJP include "慶良間空港" and "Kerama Kūkō".
• The furthest airport from Kerama Airport (KJP) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kerama Airport (meaning Kerama Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,413 miles (19,977 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• Because of Kerama Airport's relatively low elevation of 156 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerama 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.