Nonstop flight route between Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA), Kailua / Kona, Hawaii, United States and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,881 miles (or 4,637 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole and Merrill Field, 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole and Merrill Field. 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 Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA):

• Japan Airlines' Kona-Tokyo flight that started in 1996 ended in 2010, so Hawaii Island's only scheduled international flight is to Vancouver.Hawaiian Airlines filed an application with the US Department of Transportation for nonstop flights from Kona to Tokyo's Haneda Airport restoring the link between the two cities after Japan Airlines ended flights to Narita Airport in 2010.
• Because of Kona International Airport at Keāhole's relatively low elevation of 47 feet, planes can take off or land at Kona International Airport at Keāhole 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.
• Construction crews from Bechtel Corporation had used three million pounds of dynamite to flatten the lava flow within 13 months.
• In addition to being known as "Kona International Airport at Keāhole", another name for KOA is "Kona International Airport".
• The closest airport to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Pōhakuloa Training Area (BSF), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) ENE of KOA.
• Prior to the 1970 airport expansion, tourism was centered on Hawaii's East side and the town of Hilo.
• When the airport opened in 1970, it helped accelerate a shift of tourism from East Hawaii to West Hawaii.
• The furthest airport from Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) is Maun Airport (MUB), which is nearly antipodal to Kona International Airport at Keāhole (meaning Kona International Airport at Keāhole is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Maun Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Maun, Botswana.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kona International Airport at Keāhole handled 2,649,493 passengers last year.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill.
• The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, was the only airport serving Anchorage until 1951 when the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.