Nonstop flight route between Latacunga, Ecuador and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX), Latacunga, Ecuador and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,658 miles (or 9,105 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 Cotopaxi International 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 Cotopaxi International 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 Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX):

• Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Cotopaxi International Airport", other names for LTX include "Aeropuerto Internacional Cotopaxi" and "SELT".
• The closest airport to Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX) is Chachoan Airport (ATF), which is located 21 miles (34 kilometers) S of LTX.
• The furthest airport from Cotopaxi International Airport (LTX) is Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport (PKU), which is nearly antipodal to Cotopaxi International Airport (meaning Cotopaxi International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport), and is located 12,406 miles (19,965 kilometers) away in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• Because of Cotopaxi International Airport's high elevation of 9,205 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LTX. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LTX a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• 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.
• 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.