Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Zaragoza, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ), Zaragoza, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,113 miles (or 8,228 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 Zaragoza 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 Zaragoza 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.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Construction on Elmendorf Field began on 8 June 1940, as a major and permanent military airfield near Anchorage.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• 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.

Facts about Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ):

• The furthest airport from Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Zaragoza Airport (meaning Zaragoza Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Zaragoza Airport", another name for ZAZ is "Aeropuerto de Zaragoza".
• Because of Zaragoza Airport's relatively low elevation of 863 feet, planes can take off or land at Zaragoza 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.
• Zaragoza was chosen as a NASA Space Shuttle TAL site due to its long runway, which needs be longer than 7,500 feet, and its pleasant weather.
• Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Huesca–Pirineos Airport (HSK), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) NE of ZAZ.
• In addition to serving as a commercial airport, Zaragoza is the home of the Spanish Air Force 15th Group.