Nonstop flight route between Beijing, People's Republic of China and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Beijing, People's Republic of China and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,954 miles (or 6,363 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 Beijing Capital International 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 Beijing Capital International 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 Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK):

• The airport has three terminals.
• Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) has 3 runways.
• A 98.3 m monitoring tower stands at the southern end of T3, the highest building at the airport.
• Beijing Capital International Airport handled 83,712,355 passengers last year.
• Because of Beijing Capital International Airport's relatively low elevation of 116 feet, planes can take off or land at Beijing Capital International Airport 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.
• Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by a public walkway that takes about 10–15 minutes to traverse.
• The furthest airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport (VDM), which is nearly antipodal to Beijing Capital International Airport (meaning Beijing Capital International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gobernador Edgardo Castello Airport), and is located 12,378 miles (19,920 kilometers) away in Viedma, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) is Beijing Nanyuan Airport (NAY), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SSW of PEK.
• Beijing Capital has rapidly ascended in rankings of the world's busiest airports in the past decade.
• With the opening of Terminal 3, the terminal was closed for light refurbishment, and its airlines were moved to Terminal 2 on 20 May 2008.
• Terminal 2 opened on 1 November 1999, with a floor area of 336,000 m2.
• In addition to being known as "Beijing Capital International Airport", other names for PEK include "北京首都国际机场" and "Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng".

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.
• The installation hosts the headquarters for the United States Alaskan Command, 11th Air Force, U.S.
• The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.
• 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 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.
• That importance was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".