Nonstop flight route between Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Galena, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ), Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,574 miles (or 7,361 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Quetzaltenango Airport and Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ):

• The closest airport to Quetzaltenango Airport (AAZ) is Quiché Airport (AQB), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) ENE of AAZ.
• 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.
• On 1 November 1998 a Douglas DC-3 carrying 18 crew and passengers crashed near the airport into mountainous terrain.
• 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.

Facts about Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 7,784 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,447 enplanements in 2009, and 12,421 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
• Because of Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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.
• Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,313 miles (16,598 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
• As Galena Airport, it was used as a military transport base during World War II, facilitating the transit of Lend-Lease aircraft to the Soviet Union.