Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and São Paulo, Brazil:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH), São Paulo, Brazil would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,075 miles (or 12,995 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 São Paulo/Congonhas Airport, 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 São Paulo/Congonhas Airport. 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):

• 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, 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.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill.

Facts about São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH):

• The furthest airport from São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is Minami-Daito Airport (MMD), which is nearly antipodal to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (meaning São Paulo/Congonhas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Minami-Daito Airport), and is located 12,235 miles (19,691 kilometers) away in Minami Daito, Okinawa, Japan.
• The closest airport to São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) is São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governador André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), which is located only 18 miles (28 kilometers) NE of CGH.
• Its Runway 35L is known for its notorious accidents, such as TAM Flight 3054, as shown below in the "accidents" section.
• In 2008 Congonhas lost its international category.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport (CGH) has 2 runways.
• The largest aircraft now operating at Congonhas are the Airbus A320, the Boeing 737-800 and the Fokker 100.
• In addition to being known as "São Paulo/Congonhas Airport", another name for CGH is "Aeroporto de São Paulo/Congonhas".
• Gol Airlines and TAM Airlines offer for their passengers free bus transfers between Congonhas and Guarulhos/Gov.
• São Paulo/Congonhas Airport handled 17,119,530 passengers last year.
• Further bus transportation is also available through the Airport Bus Service, an executive bus line, administered by EMTU and operated by Consórcio Internorte – Área 3.
• Azul Brazilian Airlines offers for its passengers free bus transfers between Congonhas and Campinas-Viracopos International Airport at regular times.