Nonstop flight route between Basel, Switzerland and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL), Basel, Switzerland and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,561 miles (or 7,340 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL):

• Swiss International Air Lines and Swiss European Airlines headquartered is on the grounds at EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg in the Swiss section of the airport.
• EuroAirport is one of the few airports in the world operated jointly by two countries, in this case France and Switzerland.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) has 2 runways.
• In 1946 talks resumed and it was agreed that an airport would be built 4 kilometres north of Blotzheim, France.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg handled 5,880,771 passengers last year.
• Because of EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg's relatively low elevation of 885 feet, planes can take off or land at EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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.
• Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg is an international airport 6 km northwest of Basel, 22 km southeast of Mulhouse, and 70 km south of Freiburg im Breisgau.
• Crossair was based at Basel and was its largest airline.
• The first enlargement project was approved by referendum in Basel in 1960 and, over the following decades, the terminals and runways were continually extended.
• The furthest airport from EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (meaning EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,113 miles (19,493 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Plans for the construction of a joint Swiss-French airport started in the 1930s, but were halted by the Second World War.
• In addition to being known as "EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg", other names for BSL include "Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse", "Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen" and "BSL, MLH".
• The closest airport to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) is EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (MLH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BSL.

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.
• The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
• In July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group at Eielson.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• Taken off deployment status in 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005, today the primary mission of the base is to support Red Flag-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field training exercises for U.S.
• 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.
• Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.