Nonstop flight route between Grosseto, Italy and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grosseto Airport (GRS), Grosseto, Italy and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,171 miles (or 8,321 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 Grosseto 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 Grosseto 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 Grosseto Airport (GRS):

• Grosseto Airport (GRS) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Grosseto Airport", other names for GRS include "Aeroporto di Grosseto" and "Grosseto Airport".
• Grosseto Airport handled 4,382 passengers last year.
• Because of Grosseto Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Grosseto 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 Grosseto Airport (GRS) is Siena-Ampugnano Airport (SAY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of GRS.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 15 feet above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Grosseto Airport (GRS) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Grosseto Airport (meaning Grosseto Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Although it is classified as a "joint use" facility, Grosseto Air Base is primarily an Italian Air Force Base, home of the 4th Stormo, equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• 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.
• On 28 July 2010, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft practicing for an upcoming airshow crashed into a wooded area within the base, killing all four air crew members.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.
• That importance was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.
• 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 strategic importance of Elmendorf AFB was graphically realized during the spring of 1980 when the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed eight of its F-4Es to Korea to participate in exercise Team Spirit.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".