Nonstop flight route between Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States and Toncontín International Airport (TGU), Tegucigalpa, Honduras would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,469 miles (or 7,192 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 Toncontín International 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 Toncontín International 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 airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• This was the first official airport in Anchorage when it opened in 1930.
• 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 Toncontín International Airport (TGU):

• The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranks it as the second most dangerous airport in the world.
• Toncontín International Airport has 4 gates, a post office, a bank and bureau de change, many restaurants, and several airline lounges, as well as a duty-free shop, car rental services and a first aid room.
• On July 7, 2008, President Zelaya announced the reopening of Toncontín airport at a news conference following a three-hour meeting with businessmen, who had demanded commercial flights resume at Toncontín due to Soto Cano Air Base being too far from Tegucigalpa.
• The furthest airport from Toncontín International Airport (TGU) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Toncontín International Airport (meaning Toncontín International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,135 miles (19,530 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Since the 19th century, the plains south of Tegucigalpa became known as the "Potrero Los Llanos", part of a farm adjoining the farm Loarque.
• Toncontín International Airport (TGU) currently has only 1 runway.
• Historically, larger aircraft have occasionally landed at Toncontín, such as a Douglas DC-8 on a mission with Orbis International in 1987, and a C-17 Globemaster in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
• The closest airport to Toncontín International Airport (TGU) is Soto Cano Air Base (XPL), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) NW of TGU.
• Toncontín International Airport handled 493,000 passengers last year.
• The Aviator Luigi Venditti conducted several flights using the natural floodplain from Toncontín.
• In addition to being known as "Toncontín International Airport", another name for TGU is "Aeropuerto Internacional Toncontín".