Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Basel, Switzerland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL), Basel, Switzerland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,561 miles (or 7,340 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg, 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg. 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):

• 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.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• 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.
• 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 6th SW flew RC–135 strategic reconnaissance missions with an assigned squadron, and, with KC–135s deployed to Eielson from SAC, AFRES, and the ANG, conducted Alaska Tanker Task Force missions to support reconnaissance and numerous exercises for the Air Force and Navy.

Facts about EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL):

• EuroAirport is one of the few airports in the world operated jointly by two countries, in this case France and Switzerland.
• Because of EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg's relatively low elevation of 885 feet, planes can take off or land at EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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 furthest airport from EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (meaning EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,113 miles (19,493 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) is EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (MLH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BSL.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg is an international airport 6 km northwest of Basel, 22 km southeast of Mulhouse, and 70 km south of Freiburg im Breisgau.
• Plans for the construction of a joint Swiss-French airport started in the 1930s, but were halted by the Second World War.
• In addition to being known as "EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg", other names for BSL include "Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse", "Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen" and "BSL, MLH".
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg handled 5,880,771 passengers last year.
• Crossair was based at Basel and was its largest airline.