Nonstop flight route between Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Galena, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC), Gunnison, Colorado, United States and Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL), Galena, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,689 miles (or 4,328 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional 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 Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC):

• This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say it had 36,035 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 42,130 in 2009 and 37,316 in 2010.
• It is at 38°32′02″N 106°55′59″W / 38.53389°N 106.93306°W / 38.53389.
• Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport covers 1,600 acres and had two runways.
• The furthest airport from Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,016 miles (17,728 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) has 2 runways.
• Because of Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport's high elevation of 7,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GUC. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GUC a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport (GUC) is Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), which is located 48 miles (77 kilometers) N of GUC.

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

• As Galena Air Force Base, it was used by the USAF during the Cold War as an interceptor base for aircraft patrolling the western areas of Alaska.
• 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 closest airport to Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) is Koyukuk Airport (KYU), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) WNW of GAL.
• Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport (GAL) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Edward G. Pitka Sr. Airport", another name for GAL is "(former Galena Air Force Base)".
• 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.