Nonstop flight route between Peoria, Illinois, United States and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), Peoria, Illinois, United States and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,778 miles (or 4,470 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 General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport and Eielson 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 General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport and Eielson 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 General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA):

• As of January 2010, Peoria International Airport has five passenger airlines.
• Airport diagram for 1956
• The furthest airport from General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,003 miles (17,707 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) is Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ESE of PIA.
• General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) has 2 runways.
• General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport handled 592,101 passengers last year.
• Because of General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport's relatively low elevation of 661 feet, planes can take off or land at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria 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.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• The base reopened in September 1946, once again as a satellite of Ladd Field.
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• Taken off deployment status in 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005, today the primary mission of the base is to support Red Flag-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field training exercises for U.S.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• Another change involved the 3rd Fighter Training Squadron, which was replaced by the 353rd Fighter Squadron.
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".