Nonstop flight route between Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and East London, South Africa:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AIN to ELS:
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- About this route
- AIN Airport Information
- ELS Airport Information
- Facts about AIN
- Facts about ELS
- Map of Nearest Airports to AIN
- List of Nearest Airports to AIN
- Map of Furthest Airports from AIN
- List of Furthest Airports from AIN
- Map of Nearest Airports to ELS
- List of Nearest Airports to ELS
- Map of Furthest Airports from ELS
- List of Furthest Airports from ELS
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wainwright Airport (AIN), Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and East London Airport (ELS), East London, South Africa would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,822 miles (or 15,807 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 Wainwright Airport and East London 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 Wainwright Airport and East London Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AIN / PAWI |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 70°38'17"N by 159°59'40"W |
Area Served: | Wainwright, Alaska |
Operator/Owner: | North Slope Borough |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 45 feet (14 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from AIN |
More Information: | AIN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | ELS / FAEL |
Airport Name: | East London Airport |
Location: | East London, South Africa |
GPS Coordinates: | 33°2'5"S by 27°49'17"E |
Area Served: | East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 436 feet (133 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from ELS |
More Information: | ELS Maps & Info |
Facts about Wainwright Airport (AIN):
- The closest airport to Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Atqasuk Edward Burnell Sr. Memorial Airport (ATK), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) E of AIN.
- Because of Wainwright Airport's relatively low elevation of 45 feet, planes can take off or land at Wainwright 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 radar station was upgraded in the late 1980s with new radars and in 1989 was re-designated part of the North Warning System as a Long Range Radar Site, A-16, controlled by the Pacific Air Forces 611th Air Support Group, based at Elmendorf AFB.
- The LRR site was inactivated in 2007 due to soil erosion and budget concerns.
- The furthest airport from Wainwright Airport (AIN) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,348 miles (16,654 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- The airport was built in 1957 to support the Distant Early Warning Line Radar station at Wainwright.
- Wainwright Airport (AIN) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Wainwright Airport", another name for AIN is "AWI".
Facts about East London Airport (ELS):
- East London Airport (ELS) has 2 runways.
- The airport had an inauspicious beginning in 1927, when Lieut Colonel Alistair Miller asked the East London town council to help establish a municipal aerodrome at Woodbrook, west of the city.
- In 1965 the airport was again moved, this time to its present site, 9 km west of the city centre.
- The closest airport to East London Airport (ELS) is Port Alfred Airport (AFD), which is located 65 miles (105 kilometers) WSW of ELS.
- The furthest airport from East London Airport (ELS) is Kalaupapa Airport (LUP), which is located 11,569 miles (18,618 kilometers) away in Kalaupapa, Hawaii, United States.
- Because of East London Airport's relatively low elevation of 436 feet, planes can take off or land at East London 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.
- East London Airport resides at an elevation of 435 feet above mean sea level.
- East London Airport is an airport serving East London, a city in the Eastern Cape province on the southeast coast of South Africa.