Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and São Paulo, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), São Paulo, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,073 miles (or 12,993 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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 São Paulo/Congonhas 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):

• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• On 28 July 2010, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft practicing for an upcoming airshow crashed into a wooded area within the base, killing all four air crew members.
• 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 first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.

Facts about São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH):

• Congonhas has slot restrictions operating with a maximum of 30 operations/hour, being one of the three airports with such restrictions in Brazil.
• The closest airport to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) NE of CGH.
• Until 1985 Congonhas was the main airport of São Paulo operating domestic flights, as well as international service to neighbouring countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport handled 17,119,530 passengers last year.
• Gol Airlines and TAM Airlines offer for their passengers free bus transfers between Congonhas and Guarulhos/Gov.
• The furthest airport from São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (meaning São Paulo/Congonhas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,235 miles (19,691 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Congonhas Airport", another name for CGH is "Aeroporto de São Paulo/Congonhas".
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) has 2 runways.