Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Rygge (near Moss), Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG), Rygge (near Moss), Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,038 miles (or 6,498 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 Moss Airport, Rygge, 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 Moss Airport, Rygge. 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 uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-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.
• 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.
• 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 Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG):

• In June 2002, Norwegian Air Shuttle stated that they would start flights from Rygge, should the airport be built.
• The airport is a joint military and civilian airport located in the municipality of Rygge, west of the lake Vansjø.
• The closest airport to Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG) is Sandefjord Airport, Torp (TRF), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SW of RYG.
• The first Norwegian Air Shuttle plane took off at the 14 February 2008 heading for Budapest.
• Moss Airport, Rygge handled 1,667,705 passengers last year.
• On 12 January 2000, Københavns Lufthavne, which operates among other things Copenhagen Airport, bought 33.3% of the shares in Rygge Sivile Lufthavn.
• The airport was opened on 5 October 2007.
• The furthest airport from Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,319 miles (18,216 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The Civil Aviation Authority introduced a non-flight limitation on the airport from 23 to 07, of consideration to the airport's neighbors.
• In January 2007, the charter operators Star Tour, Apollo and MyTravel Airways announced that they would start operating charter flights from 1 October.
• Moss Airport, Rygge (RYG) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Moss Airport, Rygge's relatively low elevation of 173 feet, planes can take off or land at Moss Airport, Rygge 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 "Moss Airport, Rygge", another name for RYG is "Moss lufthavn, Rygge".