Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Tawau Airport (TWU), Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,026 miles (or 9,698 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 Tawau 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 Tawau 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):

• 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 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 adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• The 1980s witnessed a period of growth and modernization of Elmendorf 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.

Facts about Tawau Airport (TWU):

• Like other airports in the country, Tawau Airport is under the management of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
• Tawau Airport (TWU) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Tawau Airport (TWU) is Coari Airport (CIZ), which is nearly antipodal to Tawau Airport (meaning Tawau Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Coari Airport), and is located 12,350 miles (19,875 kilometers) away in Coari, Amazonas, Brazil.
• At present, this airport is being expanded to accommodate medium wide-body aircraft with 2 aero bridges.
• In 2008, 768,967 passengers went through the airport with 10,546 aircraft movements.
• An airport police station is located just at the opposite of the main terminal building.
• In addition to being known as "Tawau Airport", another name for TWU is "Lapangan Terbang Tawau".
• Taxi coupon or town shuttle bus ticket to Tawau or Semporna can be bought at the respective counters inside the terminal.
• The closest airport to Tawau Airport (TWU) is Nunukan Airport (NNX), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) WSW of TWU.
• Because of Tawau Airport's relatively low elevation of 57 feet, planes can take off or land at Tawau 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.
• Tawau Airport is located at Balung, 3 km further in from the Pan Borneo Highway.
• Tawau Airport handled 1,202,344 passengers last year.
• During the early days, Tawau airport was located on Jalan Utara, literally known as Northern road about 2 mi away from Tawau.