Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Kerema, Papua New Guinea:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Kerema Airport (KMA), Kerema, Papua New Guinea would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,062 miles (or 9,756 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 Kerema 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 Kerema 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):

• The host unit at Eielson is the 354th Fighter Wing assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force.
• The 720th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, equipped with F-86 Sabres, was deployed to Eielson during 1954–55.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• 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.
• A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• The 58th Weather Squadron remained at Eielson until 8 August 1958.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• On 20 August 1993, the 354 FW replaced the 343d Wing.
• The base reopened in September 1946, once again as a satellite of Ladd Field.
• 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.

Facts about Kerema Airport (KMA):

• Kerema Airport (KMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kerema Airport (KMA) is Ihu Airport (IHU), which is located 26 miles (41 kilometers) W of KMA.
• The furthest airport from Kerema Airport (KMA) is São Filipe Airport (SFL), which is located 11,622 miles (18,704 kilometers) away in Fogo, Cape Verde.
• Because of Kerema Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerema 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.