Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Finschhafen Airport (FIN), Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,739 miles (or 9,237 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 Finschhafen 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 Finschhafen 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 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 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".

Facts about Finschhafen Airport (FIN):

• Because of Finschhafen Airport's relatively low elevation of 33 feet, planes can take off or land at Finschhafen 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 furthest airport from Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,713 miles (18,850 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
• In addition to being known as "Finschhafen Airport", another name for FIN is "Finschhafen Airport".
• Finschhafen Airport is a general aviation airport in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea.
• The closest airport to Finschhafen Airport (FIN) is Lae Nadzab Airport (LAE), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) W of FIN.
• Finschhafen Airport (FIN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was built during World War II in late 1943 by the United States Army 807th and 808th Aviation Engineer Battalions which constructed a 6,000' x 100' coral and steel matting single runway running NNW to SSE.