Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN), Balikpapan, East Kalimantan would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,475 miles (or 10,420 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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 Eielson Air Force Base and Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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 Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The Cold War seen the use of Eielson's expansive reservation as a maneuver area for the U.S.
• The 6th SW remained at Eielson AFB until 1992.
• The host unit at Eielson is the 354th Fighter Wing assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force.
• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• Taken off deployment status in 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005, today the primary mission of the base is to support Red Flag-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field training exercises for U.S.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• Until 2007, Eielson was a front line base, deploying fighter and bomber units around the world as well as providing for the defense of Alaska.

Facts about Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN):

• More renovations will be completed in 2014, including the addition of an airport mall—the first such shopping area at any airport in Indonesia.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport had been renovated twice from 1991 to 1997.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport handled 5,680,961 passengers last year.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) is Bontang Airport (BXT), which is located 104 miles (168 kilometers) NNE of BPN.
• The furthest airport from Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (BPN) is Barcelos Airport (BAZ), which is nearly antipodal to Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport (meaning Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barcelos Airport), and is located 12,281 miles (19,764 kilometers) away in Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport is the 6th busiest airport in Indonesia and the busiest airport in Kalimantan and Borneo with 7.1 million passenger traffic in 2013.
• Because of Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman Airport's relatively low elevation of 12 feet, planes can take off or land at Sultan Aji Muhamad Sulaiman 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.