Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Lihue, Hawaii, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Lihue Airport (LIH), Lihue, Hawaii, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,752 miles (or 4,429 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 Lihue 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 Lihue 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 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.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".

Facts about Lihue Airport (LIH):

• The airport is the primary gateway to Kauai for visitors, and has several rental car facilities.
• The furthest airport from Lihue Airport (LIH) is Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), which is nearly antipodal to Lihue Airport (meaning Lihue Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ghanzi Airport), and is located 12,370 miles (19,907 kilometers) away in Ghanzi, Botswana.
• Lihue Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located in the Līhuʻe CDP on the southeast coast of the island of Kauaʻi in Kauai County, Hawaiʻi, United States, two nautical miles east of the center of the CDP.
• Lihue Airport handled 2,416,812 passengers last year.
• Lihue Airport (LIH) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Lihue Airport (LIH) is Princeville Airport (HPV), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) NNW of LIH.
• Because of Lihue Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Lihue 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 Kauaʻi Bus route 70 connects the airport to downtown Lihue.