Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Pensacola, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Pensacola International Airport (PNS), Pensacola, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,493 miles (or 5,622 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 Pensacola 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 Pensacola 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):

• 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• 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.
• 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 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• 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.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.

Facts about Pensacola International Airport (PNS):

• The closest airport to Pensacola International Airport (PNS) is NOLF Saufley Field (NUN), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) W of PNS.
• The furthest airport from Pensacola International Airport (PNS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,148 miles (17,940 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The terminal was expanded in 2011 at a cost of $35 million.
• In 1935 a passenger terminal opened, and airline service began two years later.
• Pensacola International Airport, formerly Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport, is a public use airport three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Pensacola, in Escambia County, Florida, United States.
• Because of Pensacola International Airport's relatively low elevation of 121 feet, planes can take off or land at Pensacola 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.
• Pensacola International Airport (PNS) has 2 runways.
• On December 27, 1987 an Eastern Airlines DC-9-31 made a hard landing and split its fuselage open just aft of its wing root.