Nonstop flight route between Mwanza, Tanzania and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mwanza Airport (MWZ), Mwanza, Tanzania and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,371 miles (or 13,472 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 Mwanza 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 Mwanza 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 Mwanza Airport (MWZ):

• Mwanza Airport (MWZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Mwanza Airport (MWZ) is Musoma Airport (MUZ), which is located 89 miles (142 kilometers) NE of MWZ.
• Mwanza Airport handled 224,207 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Mwanza Airport (MWZ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,726 miles (18,871 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• In addition to being known as "Mwanza Airport", another name for MWZ is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Mwanza  (Swahili)".

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• 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.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• On 28 July 2010, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft practicing for an upcoming airshow crashed into a wooded area within the base, killing all four air crew members.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.