Nonstop flight route between Arusha, Tanzania and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Arusha Airport (ARK), Arusha, Tanzania and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,423 miles (or 13,556 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 Arusha Airport and Elmendorf Air Force Base, 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 Arusha Airport and Elmendorf Air Force Base. 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 Arusha Airport (ARK):

• A few days later it was flown empty to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
• Arusha Airport (ARK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Arusha Airport (ARK) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,481 miles (18,477 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The airport served 87,252 passengers in 2004.
• The closest airport to Arusha Airport (ARK) is Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of ARK.
• Because of Arusha Airport's high elevation of 4,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ARK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ARK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport is currently undergoing an expansion which includes an extension of the current runway and new terminal buildings.
• Arusha Airport handled 122,621 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Arusha Airport", another name for ARK is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Arusha  (Swahili)".

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.