Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Vila Real, Portugal:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Vila Real Airport (VRL), Vila Real, Portugal would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,040 miles (or 8,112 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 Vila Real 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 Vila Real 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 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 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.
• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• The 1980s witnessed a period of growth and modernization of Elmendorf AFB.

Facts about Vila Real Airport (VRL):

• The furthest airport from Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Takaka Aerodrome (KTF), which is nearly antipodal to Vila Real Airport (meaning Vila Real Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Takaka Aerodrome), and is located 12,399 miles (19,955 kilometers) away in Takaka, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Vila Real Airport", another name for VRL is "Aeródromo Municipal de Vila Real".
• The closest airport to Vila Real Airport (VRL) is Braga Airport (BGZ), which is located 43 miles (70 kilometers) WNW of VRL.
• Vila Real Airport (VRL) currently has only 1 runway.