Nonstop flight route between Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kuvumu Airport (BKY), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,124 miles (or 13,073 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 Kuvumu 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 Kuvumu 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 Kuvumu Airport (BKY):

• In addition to being known as "Kuvumu Airport", other names for BKY include "Bukavu Kuvumu Airport" and "Kuvumu Airport (Bukavu)".
• The closest airport to Kuvumu Airport (BKY) is Goma Airport (GOM), which is located 53 miles (86 kilometers) NE of BKY.
• Kuvumu Airport (BKY) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Kuvumu Airport's high elevation of 5,643 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at BKY. Combined with a high temperature, this could make BKY a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Kuvumu Airport (BKY) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Kuvumu Airport (meaning Kuvumu Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,011 miles (19,330 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• 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.
• 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 1984, the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated a Tactical Fighter Wing.
• Eielson AFB was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force of Pacific Air Forces.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• On 1 December 1947 Strategic Air Command B-29 Superfortress bombers arrived at 26-Mile Airfield with the deployment of the 97th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, from Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas.
• The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.