Nonstop flight route between Johannesburg, South Africa and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rand Airport (QRA), Johannesburg, South Africa and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 10,019 miles (or 16,124 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 Rand Airport and Merrill Field, 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 Rand Airport and Merrill Field. 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 Rand Airport (QRA):

• Because of Rand Airport's high elevation of 5,482 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at QRA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make QRA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Rand Airport (QRA) is Hana Airport (HNM), which is located 11,977 miles (19,275 kilometers) away in Hana, Hawaii, United States.
• Rand Airport (QRA) has 2 runways.
• The airport is also home to the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team.
• The closest airport to Rand Airport (QRA) is O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), which is located only 9 miles (15 kilometers) NE of QRA.
• SAA moved its headquarters to Palmietfontein Airport in 1948 because of runway length constraints.
• de Havilland DH 104 Dove and Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar on view at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport.
• The recently upgraded fire station.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, was the only airport serving Anchorage until 1951 when the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.
• For 12-month period ending August 5, 2004, the airport had 191,550 aircraft operations, an average of 524 per day, 100% of which were general aviation.