Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Vannes, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States and Meucon Airport (VNE), Vannes, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,438 miles (or 7,142 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 Meucon 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 Meucon 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.
• 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 remained at Eielson AFB until 1992.
• 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.
• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• 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.

Facts about Meucon Airport (VNE):

• The airport was returned to French civil control after the war ended on 20 June 1945.
• The furthest airport from Meucon Airport (VNE) is Oamaru Airport (OAM), which is nearly antipodal to Meucon Airport (meaning Meucon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Oamaru Airport), and is located 12,086 miles (19,450 kilometers) away in Oamaru, North Otago, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Meucon Airport (VNE) is Lorient South Brittany Airport (LRT), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) W of VNE.
• Because of Meucon Airport's relatively low elevation of 440 feet, planes can take off or land at Meucon 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.
• KG 100 took part in operations over England during the Battle of Britain JG 53, JG 51 and JG 2 were interceptor units against Allied bomber operations over Occupied Europe
• Meucon Airport (VNE) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Meucon Airport", another name for VNE is "Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-33".
• Vannes airport was a civil airport built prior to World War II.