Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Cocos Islands, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), Cocos Islands, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,725 miles (or 12,433 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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 Cocos (Keeling) Island 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):

• 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 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.
• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
• 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 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.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.

Facts about Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK):

• Because of Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Cocos (Keeling) Island 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.
• The airfield was built during World War II to support Allied aircraft in the war against Japan.
• The airport has one runway, designated 15/33, with an asphalt surface measuring 2,441 m × 45 m and an elevation of 10 ft above sea level.
• Cocos Island Airport is not one of the busiest in Australia but still served 15,712 revenue passengers during financial year 2010-2011.
• In addition to being known as "Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport", other names for CCK include "Lapangan Terbang Pulu Koko" and "YPCC".
• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Corn Island International Airport (RNI), which is nearly antipodal to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (meaning Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Corn Island International Airport), and is located 12,429 miles (20,003 kilometers) away in Corn Island, Nicaragua.
• Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport handled 15,712 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK) is Christmas Island Airport (XCH), which is located 612 miles (985 kilometers) E of CCK.