Nonstop flight route between Port Heiden, Alaska, United States and Gander, Newfoundland, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Port Heiden Airport (PTH), Port Heiden, Alaska, United States and Gander International Airport (YQX), Gander, Newfoundland, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,937 miles (or 6,335 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 Port Heiden Airport and Gander 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 Port Heiden Airport and Gander 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 Port Heiden Airport (PTH):

• In addition to being known as "Port Heiden Airport", other names for PTH include "Port Heiden Air Force Station" and "Fort Morrow Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Port Heiden Airport (PTH) is Chignik Fisheries Airport (KCG), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) S of PTH.
• Beginning in 1958 the airport was used to support Port Heiden Air Force Station, a Cold War United States Air Force Distant Early Warning Line radar station.
• Because of Port Heiden Airport's relatively low elevation of 95 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Heiden 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.
• Port Heiden Airport (PTH) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Port Heiden Airport (PTH) is George Airport (GRJ), which is located 10,850 miles (17,462 kilometers) away in George, South Africa.

Facts about Gander International Airport (YQX):

• In late-1985, Gander was the site of the Arrow Air Flight 1285 disaster, in which a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 with 256 people on board crashed during takeoff due to atmospheric icing.
• Construction of the airport began in 1936 and it was opened in 1938, with its first landing on January 11 of that year, by Captain Douglas Fraser flying a Fox Moth of Imperial Airways.
• Because of Gander International Airport's relatively low elevation of 496 feet, planes can take off or land at Gander 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.
• In 1940, the operation of the Newfoundland Airport was assigned by the Dominion of Newfoundland to the Royal Canadian Air Force and it was renamed RCAF Station Gander in 1941.
• Following the war, the RCAF handed operation of the airfield back to the dominion government in March 1946, although the RCN's radio station remained and the military role for the entire facility was upgraded through the Cold War.
• The closest airport to Gander International Airport (YQX) is St. John's International Airport (YYT), which is located 124 miles (199 kilometers) SE of YQX.
• Gander International Airport (YQX) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gander International Airport (YQX) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,395 miles (18,338 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• In March 2010, Sun Country Airlines announced that it would use Gander as a refueling stop for its new summer 2010 service between Minneapolis and London Stansted Airport and for its summer 2011 service between Minneapolis and London Gatwick Airport.