Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Belfast International Airport (BFS), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,185 miles (or 6,736 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base and Belfast International Airport, 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base and Belfast International Airport. 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 Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• On 22 September 1995, a Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne early warning and control aircraft with 22 USAF personnel and two Canadian air crew members crashed after ingesting a flock of Canada Geese, killing all on board.
• 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.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.
• The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• 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.

Facts about Belfast International Airport (BFS):

• During the Second World War, Aldergrove remained an RAF base particularly for the Coastal Command.
• A new International Pier was built together with lounge facilities and car parks, while an additional apron was provided to separate the smaller general aviation aircraft from large commercial jets.
• Belfast International Airport handled 4,023,336 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Belfast International Airport (BFS) is George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) E of BFS.
• Belfast International Airport (BFS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Belfast International Airport (BFS) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,065 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• In 1998 EasyJet started operations from the airport with flights to London Luton.
• Despite these additional flights, passengers at Belfast International did not rise beyond 6 million in 2008 as some had predicted but in fact fell by 10,000 passengers to 5.2 million.
• In addition to being known as "Belfast International Airport", another name for BFS is "Belfast/Aldergrove Airport".
• Around 4 million passengers travelled through the airport in 2013, a 6.7% decrease on 2012.
• Because of Belfast International Airport's relatively low elevation of 268 feet, planes can take off or land at Belfast International 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.