Nonstop flight route between Hotan, Xinjiang, China and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hotan Airport (HTN), Hotan, Xinjiang, China and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,965 miles (or 7,991 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 Hotan Airport and Eielson 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 Hotan Airport and Eielson 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 Hotan Airport (HTN):

• In addition to being known as "Hotan Airport", other names for HTN include "和田机场" and "Hétián Jīchǎng".
• Because of Hotan Airport's high elevation of 4,672 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HTN. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HTN a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Hotan Airport (HTN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hotan Airport (HTN) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,566 miles (18,613 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
• The closest airport to Hotan Airport (HTN) is Kushok Bakula Rimpochhe Airport (IXL), which is located 239 miles (385 kilometers) SSW of HTN.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• A year later, however, Eielson moved from under the shadow of Ladd Field when the Alaskan Air Command assumed organizational control.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.
• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• Today the 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division and the 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division can be found training there.
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Operational uses of Mile 26 were few.
• Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 26 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska.
• A new chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson's host unit.