Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Paro, Bhutan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Paro International Airport (PBH), Paro, Bhutan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,481 miles (or 8,821 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 Paro International 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 Paro International 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• 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.

Facts about Paro International Airport (PBH):

• In 2002, the airport handled 37,200 passengers and 91,000 tonnes of cargo.
• The closest airport to Paro International Airport (PBH) is Cooch Behar Airport (COH), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) SSE of PBH.
• Paro International Airport (PBH) currently has only 1 runway.
• Bathpalathang Airport in Bumthang district and Yongphulla Airport in Trashigang District are two other airports in the country.
• The airport has a single, 6,445 feet asphalt runway.
• The furthest airport from Paro International Airport (PBH) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,281 miles (18,155 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• Because of Paro International Airport's high elevation of 7,300 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at PBH. Combined with a high temperature, this could make PBH a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.