Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Leh, India:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL), Leh, India would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,331 miles (or 8,579 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 Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe 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 Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe 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 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 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.
• 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 first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.

Facts about Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL):

• The closest airport to Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL) is Skardu Airport (KDU), which is located 141 miles (227 kilometers) NW of IXL.
• In addition to being known as "Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport", another name for IXL is "कुशोक बकुला रिम्पोचे हवाई अड्डा".
• Because of Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport's high elevation of 10,682 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at IXL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make IXL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,802 miles (18,993 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.