Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Vardø, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW), Vardø, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,344 miles (or 5,381 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes, 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 Vardø Airport, Svartnes. 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 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.
• 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.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".

Facts about Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW):

• In addition to being known as "Vardø Airport, Svartnes", another name for VAW is "Vardø Lufthavn, Svartnes".
• The furthest airport from Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,373 miles (16,694 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Vardø Airport, Svartnes's relatively low elevation of 42 feet, planes can take off or land at Vardø Airport, Svartnes 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.
• The closest airport to Vardø Airport, Svartnes (VAW) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 34 miles (56 kilometers) SW of VAW.
• Vardø Airport, Svartnes handled 14,664 passengers last year.
• The first plans for a civilian airport at Svartnes was launched by Varangfly, later renamed Norving, in 1964.
• Construction of a new terminal and upgrading the airport to regional standard started in 1984.