Nonstop flight route between Freetown, Sierra Leone and Galena, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lungi International Airport (FNA), Freetown, Sierra Leone and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,035 miles (or 11,321 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 Lungi International Airport and Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Lungi International Airport and Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Lungi International Airport (FNA):

• As of May, 2014 the airport had regularly scheduled direct flights to London, Paris, Brussels and most major cities in West Africa.
• Lungi International Airport handled 167,911 passengers last year.
• On June 3, 2007, a helicopter flight from Freetown exploded and crashed on landing at Lungi airport, killing all 22 people on board.
• Lungi International Airport (FNA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Ulawa Airport (RNA), which is nearly antipodal to Lungi International Airport (meaning Lungi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ulawa Airport), and is located 12,097 miles (19,468 kilometers) away in Arona, Ulawa Island, Solomon Islands.
• Because of Lungi International Airport's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at Lungi International 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 closest airport to Lungi International Airport (FNA) is Hastings Airport (HGS), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) SSE of FNA.

Facts about Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL):

• Because of Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport's relatively low elevation of 153 feet, planes can take off or land at Edward G. Pitka Sr. 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 Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,313 miles (16,598 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.
• Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
• The airport also sports a ski-jump takeoff ramp at one end and provisions for arresting gear at the other, a leftover from the Cold War years as Galena Air Force Base, as tactical aircraft required more landing and takeoff space than was available on the runway.
• The closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
• In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 7,784 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 7,447 enplanements in 2009, and 12,421 in 2010.