Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,535 miles (or 8,907 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 Gran Canaria 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 Gran Canaria 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 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 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• 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.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• 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 Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):

• Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Gran Canaria Airport", another name for LPA is "Aeropuerto de Gran Canaria".
• In 1970, work began on the current passenger terminal that is being used to operate flights today.
• Because of Gran Canaria Airport's relatively low elevation of 78 feet, planes can take off or land at Gran Canaria 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.
• The furthest airport from Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Gran Canaria Airport (meaning Gran Canaria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,221 miles (19,667 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• The airport was an official alternative landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle, before the ending of Space Shuttle programme in July 2011.
• In 1946, the old passenger terminal opened, which took two years to build.
• Military activity was most intense during the mid 1970s, at the time of the crisis of decolonisation of Western Sahara and its occupation by Morocco.
• The airport has one terminal which opened in March 1973.
• The closest airport to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) is Tenerife North Airport (TFN), which is located 69 miles (112 kilometers) WNW of LPA.
• Gran Canaria Airport handled 9,770,253 passengers last year.
• The airport can be reached by several island roads from all points in the island.