Nonstop flight route between Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), Fairbanks / Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States and Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL), Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,116 miles (or 6,623 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Kiel Holtenau 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 Ladd Army Airfield and Kiel Holtenau 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 Ladd Army Airfield (FBK):

• The furthest airport from Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,286 miles (16,554 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Reflecting the need to insure aircraft bound for the Soviet Union were prepared for the flight to Galena and Nome, prior to flying across the Bering Straits to Siberia, Ladd AAF the Alaska Air Depot of XI AF Service Command was activated on 8 July 1942.
• In addition to being known as "Ladd Army Airfield", another name for FBK is "(Ladd Air Force Base)".
• In 1948, as Cold War tensions heightened, the Army's 2nd Infantry sent ground defense soldiers to Ladd
• Testing at Ladd Field began again in 1942, but by 1943 aircraft cold-weather testing had become a second priority, as Ladd became the hub for fighters and bombers destined for the "Forgotten 1,000 Mile War" in the Aleutians against the Japanese or on their way to Soviet forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
• From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Ladd AFB served as the northern hub for Air Force activities in Alaska.
• Alaska's transportation infrastructure at the time was so limited and the problem of military supply so acute, it also made sense to concentrate the bases along existing supply lines near Anchorage and Fairbanks.
• Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Ladd Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 454 feet, planes can take off or land at Ladd Army Airfield 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 closest airport to Ladd Army Airfield (FBK) is Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which is located only 7 miles (12 kilometers) WSW of FBK.

Facts about Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL):

• However, use of the airport declined in the following years as more and more scheduled flight routes were discontinued.
• In addition to being known as "Kiel Holtenau Airport", another name for KEL is "Flughafen Kiel-Holtenau".
• The closest airport to Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Sønderborg Airport (SGD), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) NNW of KEL.
• The furthest airport from Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,649 miles (18,747 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Further, German Air Force aircraft operating as fake targets for practice depart from Kiel Airport.
• In 1995, the airport became a civilian airport again and in 1997, a new control tower that was operated by civilian staff was constructed.
• Because of Kiel Holtenau Airport's relatively low elevation of 101 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiel Holtenau 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.
• Kiel Holtenau Airport (KEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• A new hangar was built in 2000.