Nonstop flight route between Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between East Midlands Airport (EMA), Castle Donington, Leicestershire, United Kingdom and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,116 miles (or 6,624 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 East Midlands Airport and Eielson Air Force Base, 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 East Midlands Airport and Eielson Air Force Base. 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 East Midlands Airport (EMA):

• The closest airport to East Midlands Airport (EMA) is RAF Cottesmore (OKH), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) ESE of EMA.
• Because of East Midlands Airport's relatively low elevation of 306 feet, planes can take off or land at East Midlands 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.
• East Midlands Airport handled 4,334,117 passengers last year.
• In September 2006 Plane Stupid blocked a taxiway at the airport for four hours.
• It was announced only just over a year later, on 3 May 2012, that Bmibaby would be closed down and cease all operations in September 2012 with a number of services being dropped from June.
• Expansion was swift, with a further runway extension to 2,283 m and terminal upgrade in the late 1970s.
• The furthest airport from East Midlands Airport (EMA) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.
• The arrival of low-cost carriers in 2002 resulted in a sharp jump in passenger numbers, rising 36% in that year to 3.23 million.
• It was announced on 13 April 2011 that Bmibaby would close its Manchester and Cardiff bases, moving an additional service to East Midlands Airport with increased frequencies and new routes for summer 2012.
• East Midlands Airport (EMA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport was originally a Royal Air Force station, RAF Castle Donington, which was decommissioned in 1946.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The base reopened in September 1946, once again as a satellite of Ladd Field.
• The 720th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, equipped with F-86 Sabres, was deployed to Eielson during 1954–55.
• 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.
• The 6th SW remained at Eielson AFB until 1992.
• 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 host unit at Eielson is the 354th Fighter Wing assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force.