Nonstop flight route between Alamosa, Colorado, United States and Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS), Alamosa, Colorado, United States and Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,534 miles (or 4,078 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 San Luis Valley Regional 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 San Luis Valley Regional 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 San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS):

• The airport covers 1,700 acres at an elevation of 7,539 feet.
• The furthest airport from San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,054 miles (17,790 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of San Luis Valley Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,539 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ALS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ALS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "San Luis Valley Regional Airport", another name for ALS is "Bergman Field".
• The closest airport to San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) is Stevens Field (FAA: PSO) (PGO), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) W of ALS.
• San Luis Valley Regional Airport (ALS) has 2 runways.

Facts about Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• Reflecting the need to insure aircraft bound for the Soviet Union were prepared for the flight to Galena and Nome, prior to flying across the Bering Straits to Siberia, Ladd AAF the Alaska Air Depot of XI AF Service Command was activated on 8 July 1942.
• The closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.
• 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 Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• During 1946-1950, personnel from Ladd laid some of the groundwork of the early Cold War with strategic reconnaissance and Arctic research projects.
• Ladd Army Airfield is the military airfield located at Fort Jonathan Wainwright, located in Fairbanks, Alaska.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.