Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Taiyuan, Shanxi, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN), Taiyuan, Shanxi, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,206 miles (or 6,769 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 Taiyuan Wuxu 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 Taiyuan Wuxu 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):

• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN):

• In addition to being known as "Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport", other names for TYN include "太原武宿国际机场" and "Tàiyuán Wǔsù Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The closest airport to Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN) is Lüliang Airport (LLV), which is located 81 miles (131 kilometers) W of TYN.
• Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport handled 6,813,265 passengers last year.
• Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (TYN) is Colonia Catriel Airport (CCT), which is nearly antipodal to Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport (meaning Taiyuan Wuxu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Colonia Catriel Airport), and is located 12,409 miles (19,970 kilometers) away in Colonia Catriel, Río Negro, Argentina.