Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and West Palm Beach, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,947 miles (or 6,353 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 Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach 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 adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• On 28 July 2010, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft practicing for an upcoming airshow crashed into a wooded area within the base, killing all four air crew members.
• 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.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.

Facts about Palm Beach International Airport (PBI):

• Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) has 3 runways.
• Because of Palm Beach International Airport's relatively low elevation of 19 feet, planes can take off or land at Palm Beach International 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 furthest airport from Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,588 miles (18,650 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• Delta Air Lines began scheduled flights in 1959 and Capital Airlines in 1960.
• The closest airport to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) is Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) S of PBI.
• Palm Beach International Airport handled 5,609,168 passengers last year.
• 2013 – 5,691,7472012 – 5,609,1682011 – 5,769,5832010 – 5,887,7232009 – 5,994,6062008 – 6,476,3032007 – 6,936,4492006 – 6,824,7892005 – 7,014,237