Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Warsaw, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), Warsaw, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,584 miles (or 7,377 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 Warsaw Chopin 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 Warsaw Chopin 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 first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• 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 Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
• 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 installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.

Facts about Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW):

• Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) has 2 runways.
• Because of Warsaw Chopin Airport's relatively low elevation of 361 feet, planes can take off or land at Warsaw Chopin 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.
• Passenger traffic at Warsaw Chopin Airport has increased dramatically since the fall of communism in Poland and the removal of restrictions on Polish citizens' travel abroad.
• The closest airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Historic Centre of Warsaw (WRW), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NNE of WAW.
• Formerly Warsaw-Okecie Airport or Okecie International Airport, the airport bore the name of its Okęcie neighborhood throughout its history, until its renaming for Polish composer and former Warsaw resident Frédéric Chopin in 2001.
• Warsaw Chopin Airport handled 10,683,706 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,450 miles (18,426 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• It was only in 1990, after the fall of communism, that a new terminal started to be built at Okęcie.
• In addition to being known as "Warsaw Chopin Airport", another name for WAW is "Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie".
• In 1961, the airport's management board decided to purchase a radar for civilian air traffic control and to begin the expansion of the airport in Warsaw.
• During World War II, Okęcie was often used as a battleground between the German Army and Polish resistance and was almost completely destroyed.