Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Jiayuguan, Gansu, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Jiayuguan Airport (JGN), Jiayuguan, Gansu, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,403 miles (or 7,086 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 Jiayuguan 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 Jiayuguan 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):

• On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
• A new chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson's host unit.
• 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 closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• 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.
• On 1 December 1947 Strategic Air Command B-29 Superfortress bombers arrived at 26-Mile Airfield with the deployment of the 97th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, from Smoky Hill AFB, Kansas.
• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958.

Facts about Jiayuguan Airport (JGN):

• The closest airport to Jiayuguan Airport (JGN) is Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (YZY), which is located 144 miles (232 kilometers) ESE of JGN.
• In addition to being known as "Jiayuguan Airport", other names for JGN include "嘉峪关机场" and "Jiāyùguān Jīchǎng".
• Jiayuguan Airport (JGN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Jiayuguan Airport's high elevation of 5,112 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at JGN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make JGN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Jiayuguan Airport (JGN) is Pupelde Airfield (ZUD), which is nearly antipodal to Jiayuguan Airport (meaning Jiayuguan Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pupelde Airfield), and is located 12,003 miles (19,316 kilometers) away in Ancud, Los Lagos Region, Chile.