Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and RAF Ascension (ASI), Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,122 miles (or 13,072 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 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and RAF Ascension, 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 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and RAF Ascension. 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 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC):

• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) ENE of ANC.
• Major national rental car chains are represented in an on-site consolidated rental car facility attached to the South terminal.
• The FAA has forecast total operations for the year 2011 to be 261,375.
• Most scheduled passenger service from Anchorage to Europe and Asia ceased in the early 1990s following the end of the Cold War.
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport handled 4,976,557 passengers last year.
• Built in 1951 as Anchorage International Airport, the airport was served in the 1950s by Alaska Airlines, Northwest Orient, Pacific Northern Airlines and Reeve Aleutian Airways, using aircraft ranging from Douglas DC-3s to Boeing 377s, and was also a refueling stop for Canadian Pacific Air Lines service to the Far East.
• The furthest airport from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,548 miles (16,975 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport's relatively low elevation of 152 feet, planes can take off or land at Ted Stevens Anchorage International 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 airport was renamed in 2000 by the Alaska Legislature to honor former long-standing U.S.

Facts about RAF Ascension (ASI):

• Wideawake Airfield was a US installation built in 1943 by arrangement with the British government.
• The closest airport to RAF Ascension (ASI) is Sasstown Airport (SAZ), which is located 965 miles (1,553 kilometers) NNE of ASI.
• The RAF presence on Ascension is backed up by United States Air Force personnel, who contribute a similar number of service personnel to ensure the effective running of the station, under the command of Captain Eduard Rodriguez, who is responsible to the RAF Station Commander.
• Ascension Island Auxiliary Field was being built by 181 men from Saint Helena by 1957
• The furthest airport from RAF Ascension (ASI) is Ujae Airport (UJE), which is nearly antipodal to RAF Ascension (meaning RAF Ascension is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ujae Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ujae Atoll, Marshall Islands.
• In addition to being known as "RAF Ascension", another name for ASI is "Wideawake Airbase/Field".