Nonstop flight route between Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerry Airport (KIR), Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,301 miles (or 6,921 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 Kerry 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 Kerry 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 Kerry Airport (KIR):

• The closest airport to Kerry Airport (KIR) is Bantry Aerodrome (BYT), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) S of KIR.
• The furthest airport from Kerry Airport (KIR) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Kerry Airport (meaning Kerry Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,057 miles (19,403 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Kerry Airport's relatively low elevation of 112 feet, planes can take off or land at Kerry 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 "Kerry Airport", another name for KIR is "Aerfort Chiarraí".
• Kerry Airport handled 272,799 passengers last year.
• The runway was completed on schedule and the first scheduled flight into Kerry was on 22 May 1989 from Dublin by Aer Lingus followed the next day by Ryanair from London-Luton.
• The Government of Ireland subvents regional services under a public service obligation programme.
• Kerry Airport (KIR) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.
• 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 16 November 2010, a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took off for a training mission.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.