Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Athens, Greece:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH), Athens, Greece would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,577 miles (or 8,976 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 Merrill Field and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos", 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 Merrill Field and Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos". 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 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.
• 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.
• Merrill Field is home to the University of Alaska Anchorage's Aviation Technology Division, as well as two locally-owned flight schools, air taxi services, and fixed base operators.
• For 12-month period ending August 5, 2004, the airport had 191,550 aircraft operations, an average of 524 per day, 100% of which were general aviation.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• The offices of the Alaska Dispatch, parent company of the Anchorage Daily News, are located on Merrill Field.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.

Facts about Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH):

• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" handled 12,536,038 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Porto Kheli Airport (PKH), which is located 62 miles (100 kilometers) SW of ATH.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) has 2 runways.
• Because of Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"'s relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" 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.
• The furthest airport from Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" (ATH) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,330 miles (18,234 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos", began operation on 29 March 2001 and is the primary civilian airport that serves the city of Athens and the region of Attica.
• In addition to being known as "Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos"", another name for ATH is "Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών "Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος"".
• Travel to and from the airport requires a special ticket, priced at 8 euros.
• However, 2014 seems to signal a recovery for the airport's passenger traffic.
• Athens International Airport is the busiest airport in Greece, and in 2013 was the 35th busiest airport in Europe, handling around 12.5 million passengers.