Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Charleston, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Charleston International Airport (CHS), Charleston, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,592 miles (or 5,780 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 Charleston 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 Charleston 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):

• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• 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 adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

Facts about Charleston International Airport (CHS):

• Charleston International Airport (CHS) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Charleston International Airport (CHS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,561 miles (18,606 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In 1928, the Charleston Airport Corporation was founded and purchased 700 acres of land previously belonging to a mining company.
• Charleston International Airport handled 2,913,265 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Charleston International Airport (CHS) is Lowcountry Regional Airport (RBW), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) W of CHS.
• In addition to being known as "Charleston International Airport", another name for CHS is "Charleston Field".
• CARTA, the regional mass transit system, serves the airport with three routes that operate seven days a week from 6:00 a.m.
• Because of Charleston International Airport's relatively low elevation of 46 feet, planes can take off or land at Charleston 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.
• In 2011 Southwest Airlines began service to Charleston, increasing passenger figures and reducing fares for most flights.