Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Ceuta, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Ceuta Heliport (JCU), Ceuta, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,434 miles (or 8,746 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 Ceuta Heliport, 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 Ceuta Heliport. 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):

• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
• 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 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 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 Ceuta Heliport (JCU):

• In its second year of operation, the heliport served 20,233 passengers, handled 2,656 operations and 4.6 tonnes of cargo.
• The heliport is situated in the port of Ceuta, between the cargo dock and the fishing port, on land reclaimed from the sea in the north of the city.
• In addition to being known as "Ceuta Heliport", another name for JCU is "Helipuerto de Ceuta".
• The furthest airport from Ceuta Heliport (JCU) is Whangarei Airport (WRE), which is nearly antipodal to Ceuta Heliport (meaning Ceuta Heliport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Whangarei Airport), and is located 12,416 miles (19,982 kilometers) away in Whangarei, New Zealand.
• Because of Ceuta Heliport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Ceuta Heliport 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 closest airport to Ceuta Heliport (JCU) is Gibraltar International Airport (GIB), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) N of JCU.
• Ceuta Heliport handled 5,673 passengers last year.