Nonstop flight route between Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH), Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,790 miles (or 4,491 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 Southwest Michigan Regional Airport and Eielson 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 Southwest Michigan Regional Airport and Eielson 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 Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH):

• The closest airport to Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport (NLE), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSE of BEH.
• It was previously served from 1995 to 2000 by Mesaba Airlines, offering five daily flights to the Northwest Airlines hub at Detroit.
• Opened in 1973, the air traffic control tower sits abandoned to the present day after its closure during a 1981 controller strike.
• Because of Southwest Michigan Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 649 feet, planes can take off or land at Southwest Michigan Regional 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.
• Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Southwest Michigan Regional Airport (BEH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,140 miles (17,929 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• In July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group at Eielson.
• A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• Today the 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division and the 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division can be found training there.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.