Nonstop flight route between Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ), Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,408 miles (or 8,703 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa 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 Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ):

• Because of Ngari Gunsa Airport's high elevation of 14,022 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at NGQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make NGQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Bhuntar Airport (KUU), which is located 171 miles (275 kilometers) W of NGQ.
• In addition to being known as "Ngari Gunsa Airport", other names for NGQ include "阿里昆莎机场ལྷ་ས་གོང་དཀར་རྫོང་" and "Ālǐ Kūnshā Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Ngari Gunsa Airport (NGQ) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,774 miles (18,948 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• 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.
• 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.
• Despite a diminished number of personnel and aircraft, a turning point in Elmendorf's history occurred in 1970 with the arrival of the 43d Tactical Fighter Squadron in June 1970 from MacDill AFB, Florida.