Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Tehran, Iran:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA), Tehran, Iran would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,654 miles (or 9,100 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 Tehran Imam Khomeini 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 Tehran Imam Khomeini 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):

• 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.
• 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 uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• 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.
• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.
• 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 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.

Facts about Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA):

• IKA has obtained the international certificate of Integrated Management System.
• Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport", another name for IKA is "فرودگاه امام خمینی".
• The furthest airport from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,511 miles (18,525 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• Further complicating matters, on 29 April 2005, the United Kingdom and Canada warned its citizens against using the airport due to alleged safety concerns concerning the runway, which has been claimed to have been built over ancient qanats.
• Just prior to the opening on 8 May, two local airlines refused to switch to the new airport.
• Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport handled 4,986,477 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) is Mehrabad Airport (THR), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) NNE of IKA.
• It was designed to replace Mehrabad International Airport, which is in the west of the city, now inside the city boundaries.
• Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport is located in Ahmadabad, Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran and is the largest and most important airport of the country.