Nonstop flight route between Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ), Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,320 miles (or 6,953 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 Quetzaltenango Airport and Ladd Army Airfield, 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 Quetzaltenango Airport and Ladd Army Airfield. 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 Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ):

• On 1 November 1998 a Douglas DC-3 carrying 18 crew and passengers crashed near the airport into mountainous terrain.
• Because of Quetzaltenango Airport's high elevation of 7,779 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AAZ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AAZ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• An emergency operations center has been installed at the airport in order to respond faster to disasters like hurricane Stan in the future.
• 'Quetzaltenango Airport is located in the Guatemalan highlands, in the northeastern part of the city of Quetzaltenango.
• The closest airport to Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Quiché Airport (AQB), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) ENE of AAZ.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Ladd Army Airfield is the military airfield located at Fort Jonathan Wainwright, located in Fairbanks, Alaska.
• The major use of Ladd Field was primarily cold-weather testing of aircraft and equipment.
• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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.
• Ladd was not exclusively an Air Force site.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• The airplanes arrived at Ladd were stripped of all but basic instrumentation and armament.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.