Nonstop flight route between Medellín, Colombia and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between José María Córdova International Airport (MDE), Medellín, Colombia and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,296 miles (or 8,523 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 José María Córdova International 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 José María Córdova International 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 José María Córdova International Airport (MDE):

• Since its inauguration in 1985 until 1990, the terminal had heavy passenger and cargo movement, in part because the Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, which is located in Medellín, was closed.
• After several obstacles, the city of Medellín has finally accepted the construction of an unpaved runway about 974 m long.
• It was opened in 1985.
• Currently in the terminal operates 25 destinations in total divided into 11 international and 12 domestic destinations regularly.
• The furthest airport from José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) is Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II) (TKG), which is nearly antipodal to José María Córdova International Airport (meaning José María Córdova International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Radin Inten II Airport (RIA II)), and is located 12,361 miles (19,892 kilometers) away in Bandar Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia.
• José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) is Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) WNW of MDE.
• Because of José María Córdova International Airport's high elevation of 7,027 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at MDE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make MDE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "José María Córdova International Airport", another name for MDE is "Aeropuerto Internacional José María Córdova".

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• 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.
• The 6th SW flew RC–135 strategic reconnaissance missions with an assigned squadron, and, with KC–135s deployed to Eielson from SAC, AFRES, and the ANG, conducted Alaska Tanker Task Force missions to support reconnaissance and numerous exercises for the Air Force and Navy.
• 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.
• On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".