Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Jos, Nigeria:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Yakubu Gowon Airport (JOS), Jos, Nigeria would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,403 miles (or 11,915 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 Yakubu Gowon 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 Yakubu Gowon 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of 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.
• Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".

Facts about Yakubu Gowon Airport (JOS):

• Yakubu Gowon Airport (JOS) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Yakubu Gowon Airport's high elevation of 4,232 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JOS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JOS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Yakubu Gowon Airport (JOS) is Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV), which is located 118 miles (190 kilometers) WSW of JOS.
• The furthest airport from Yakubu Gowon Airport (JOS) is Asau Airport (AAU), which is nearly antipodal to Yakubu Gowon Airport (meaning Yakubu Gowon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Asau Airport), and is located 12,151 miles (19,555 kilometers) away in Asau, Samoa.