Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Montpellier, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL), Montpellier, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,046 miles (or 8,121 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 Montpellier–Méditerranée 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 Montpellier–Méditerranée 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.
• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.
• 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 installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 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.

Facts about Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL):

• Because of Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport's relatively low elevation of 17 feet, planes can take off or land at Montpellier–Méditerranée 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.
• In addition to being known as "Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport", another name for MPL is "Aéroport de Montpellier–Méditerranée".
• The closest airport to Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL) is Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport (FNI), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) ENE of MPL.
• The furthest airport from Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (meaning Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,410 miles (19,972 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Montpellier–Méditerranée Airport (MPL) has 2 runways.