Nonstop flight route between Gaza, Palestine and Agana, Guam:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA), Gaza, Palestine and Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), Agana, Guam would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,900 miles (or 11,104 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 Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) and Andersen 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 Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) and Andersen 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 Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA):

• Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The International Civil Aviation Organization strongly condemned Israel for the destruction of the airport, which it deemed a violation of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation.
• The construction of the airport was provided for in the Oslo II Agreement of 1995.
• The closest airport to Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA) is Gaza Airstrip/Gush Katif Airport (GHK), which is located only 8 miles (14 kilometers) N of GZA.
• The furthest airport from Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) (GZA) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,736 miles (18,887 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• In addition to being known as "Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED)", another name for GZA is "مطار ياسر عرفات الدولي".
• Because of Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED)'s relatively low elevation of 320 feet, planes can take off or land at Yasser Arafat International Airport (CLOSED) 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.

Facts about Andersen Air Force Base (UAM):

• The furthest airport from Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Andersen Air Force Base (meaning Andersen Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• Andersen saw an end to its role in rotational duties when the B-47 was phased out and replaced by the B-52 Stratofortress.
• Operation Linebacker II continued the mission of Operation Arc Light, and was most notable for its 11-day bombing campaign between 18 and 29 December 1972, in which more than 150 B-52 bombers flew 729 sorties in 11 days.
• Flying out of Guam, S/Sgt Henry E Erwin of the 29th Bombardment Group was awarded the Medal of Honor for action that saved his B-29 during a mission over Koriyama, Japan, on 12 April 1945.
• The closest airport to Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Guam International Airport (GUM), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SW of UAM.
• However, the FEAF Bomber Command was inactivated in 1954 and its three B-29 wings returned stateside and replaced with B-47s.
• In 1951, the Strategic Air Command chose several overseas bases to support rotational unit deployments of its bombers from stateside bases, starting with B-29 Superfortress units and later including Convair B-36, B-47 Stratojet, B-50 Superfortress bombers, and KB-29 refueling tankers.
• The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Thirteenth Air Force.
• In October 1949, the 19th Wing again became subordinated to the 20th Air Force and the remaining units in the Marianas and Bonin Islands were transferred to other organizations.
• The first host unit at North Field was the 314th Bombardment Wing, XXI Bomber Command, Twentieth Air Force.