Nonstop flight route between Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between La Gomera Airport (GMZ), Alajeró / San Sebastián, Canary Islands, Spain and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,724 miles (or 9,211 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 La Gomera Airport and Elmendorf 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 La Gomera Airport and Elmendorf 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 La Gomera Airport (GMZ):

• At the end of 1995, when Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea, literally "Spanish Airports and Air Navigation", took over the airport, a passenger terminal was built, which was inaugurated in 1992.
• The furthest airport from La Gomera Airport (GMZ) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to La Gomera Airport (meaning La Gomera Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,116 miles (19,499 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• In the year 1962, the island had a lot of sanitary assistance problems, so studies to build an airport in the island were started, but this project was not carried out until 1975.
• At the end of 1997, all is ready to begin with the works and, at the end of 1994 the arifield had a runway, an aircraft parking and a taxi way to the runway.
• Because of La Gomera Airport's relatively low elevation of 716 feet, planes can take off or land at La Gomera 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.
• In addition to being known as "La Gomera Airport", another name for GMZ is "La Gomera Airport ODB".
• Finally, in the 1980s, problems with wounded evacuations necessitated building an airport in the island, and on 27 July 1987 an agreement for the construction of the airport was signed.
• La Gomera Airport (GMZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to La Gomera Airport (GMZ) is Tenerife-South Airport (TFS), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) E of GMZ.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The furthest airport from Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,542 miles (16,965 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• On 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.