Nonstop flight route between Roswell, New Mexico, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roswell International Air Center (ROW), Roswell, New Mexico, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,775 miles (or 4,466 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 Roswell International Air Center 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 Roswell International Air Center 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 Roswell International Air Center (ROW):

• The site is the storage facility for many of American Airlines' retired Airbus A300-600R wide body jetliners.
• A New Mexico National Guard unit uses some of the buildings of the facility.
• It is also known for the Roswell UFO incident, an event that supposedly happened on July 4, 1947.
• The closest airport to Roswell International Air Center (ROW) is Artesia Municipal Airport (ATS), which is located 31 miles (50 kilometers) S of ROW.
• Roswell International Air Center (ROW) has 2 runways.
• On April 2, 2011, a Gulfstream G650 crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport during a test flight that was being conducted by the manufacturer of this large business jet, killing all four aboard.
• Historically, Roswell was served by Trans-Texas Airways which flew Douglas DC-9-10 jet service to Albuquerque, Dallas, Houston, Midland/Odessa and Santa Fe.
• The site was used for several years to launch stratospheric balloons for Air Force projects.
• The furthest airport from Roswell International Air Center (ROW) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,241 miles (18,090 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.

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 uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• The strategic importance of Elmendorf AFB was graphically realized during the spring of 1980 when the 18th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed eight of its F-4Es to Korea to participate in exercise Team Spirit.
• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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.
• The 1980s witnessed a period of growth and modernization of Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.