Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Samedan Airport (SMV), St. Moritz / Samedan, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,904 miles (or 7,892 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 Samedan 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 Samedan 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.

Facts about Samedan Airport (SMV):

• Samedan Airport (SMV) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Samedan Airport (SMV) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Samedan Airport (meaning Samedan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,075 miles (19,433 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport was used as one of the locations for filming "Where Eagles Dare".
• The closest airport to Samedan Airport (SMV) is Lugano Airport (LUG), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) SW of SMV.
• Because of Samedan Airport's high elevation of 5,600 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at SMV. Combined with a high temperature, this could make SMV a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Samedan Airport", another name for SMV is "Flughafen Engadin".