Nonstop flight route between Gulkana, Alaska, United States and Kwajalein, Marshall Islands:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gulkana Airport (GKN), Gulkana, Alaska, United States and Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA), Kwajalein, Marshall Islands would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,371 miles (or 7,034 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 Gulkana Airport and Bucholz Army Airfield, 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 Gulkana Airport and Bucholz Army Airfield. 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 Gulkana Airport (GKN):

• The furthest airport from Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,451 miles (16,820 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Gulkana Airport covers an area of 1,678 acres at an elevation of 1,586 feet above mean sea level.
• The closest airport to Gulkana Airport (GKN) is Copper Center Airport (CZC), which is located only 16 miles (25 kilometers) SSE of GKN.
• Gulkana Airport (GKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 204 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 187 enplanements in 2009, and 141 in 2010.

Facts about Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA):

• Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Although the Marshall Islands was officially granted independence from the United States, and became an independent republic in 1986, Kwajalein atoll is still used by the United States for missile testing and various other operations.
• Along with the heavy bomber groups, the USAAF reassigned the F-5 -equipped 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron to Kwajalein to fly long-range photographic missions over the Marshalls and reported directly to Headquarters, Seventh Air Force.
• The furthest airport from Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA) is RAF Ascension (ASI), which is nearly antipodal to Bucholz Army Airfield (meaning Bucholz Army Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from RAF Ascension), and is located 12,283 miles (19,767 kilometers) away in Georgetown, Ascension Island, Saint Helena.
• Since the entire Kwajalein Island is a military base, non-military passengers on commercial flights are transported to and from the neighboring island of Ebeye, the civilian population center of Kwajalein Atoll.
• Because of Bucholz Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 9 feet, planes can take off or land at Bucholz 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.
• After the war, the United States used Kwajalein as a main command center and preparation base for Operation Crossroads and an extensive series of nuclear tests at the Marshalls' atolls of Bikini and Enewetak.
• The closest airport to Bucholz Army Airfield (KWA) is Ebadon Airstrip (EBN), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) SSE of KWA.