Nonstop flight route between Aiyura, Papua New Guinea and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aiyura Airport (AYU), Aiyura, Papua New Guinea and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,780 miles (or 9,301 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 Aiyura 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 Aiyura 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 Aiyura Airport (AYU):

• The closest airport to Aiyura Airport (AYU) is Gusap Airport (GAP), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) N of AYU.
• Aiyura Airport (AYU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Aiyura Airport's high elevation of 5,100 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AYU. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AYU a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Aiyura Airport (AYU) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,723 miles (18,867 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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.
• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• 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.