Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Sørvágur, Faroe Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Vágar Airport (FAE), Sørvágur, Faroe Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,692 miles (or 5,942 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 Vágar 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 Vágar 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 strategic importance of Elmendorf AFB was graphically realized during the spring of 1980 when the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed eight of its F-4Es to Korea to participate in exercise Team Spirit.

Facts about Vágar Airport (FAE):

• The furthest airport from Vágar Airport (FAE) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,373 miles (18,304 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• After the war the airfield was abandoned and left unused until 1963 when it was reopened as a civilian airport at the initiative of two Sørvágur residents, Hugo Fjørðoy and Lars Larsen.
• The closest airport to Vágar Airport (FAE) is Scatsta Airport (SCS), which is located 228 miles (368 kilometers) ESE of FAE.
• A Boeing 737 aircraft lands
• Because of Vágar Airport's relatively low elevation of 280 feet, planes can take off or land at Vágar 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.
• Vágar Airport (FAE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Until 2002 travel from the airport to most locations in the Faroe Islands including the capital Tórshavn required a car ferry, but in 2002 a road tunnel was opened giving direct road access.
• The runway was extended from 1,250 metres to 1,799 metres in 2011, allowing more plane types to be used.
• Vágar Airport handled 23,618 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Vágar Airport", another name for FAE is "Vága FloghavnVágar Lufthavn".
• The airport was built by British Royal Engineers during World War II on the island of Vágar.