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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kerry Airport (KIR), Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,052 miles (or 6,521 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 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 Kerry 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 Kerry Airport (KIR):

• The Runway 08/26 was licensed by the Irish Aviation Authority on 20 May 1994 and the first flight landed at 13:23 local time on the 20th May.
• Kerry Airport handled 272,799 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kerry Airport", another name for KIR is "Aerfort Chiarraí".
• 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.
• Kerry Airport (KIR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Government of Ireland subvents regional services under a public service obligation programme.
• An airport bus terminal opened in January 2006 which has hourly bus service to Cork, Limerick, Tralee and Killarney.
• The airport is a public limited company but not quoted on any stock exchange.
• 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.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "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.
• In July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group at Eielson.
• Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force of Pacific Air Forces.
• 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.
• Eielson AFB was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field.
• Headquarters USAF General Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB.