Nonstop flight route between St Denis, Réunion, France and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roland Garros Airport (RUN), St Denis, Réunion, France and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,240 miles (or 14,870 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 Roland Garros 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 Roland Garros 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 Roland Garros Airport (RUN):

• Roland Garros Airport handled 206,776 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 30 miles (49 kilometers) S of RUN.
• In addition to being known as "Roland Garros Airport", other names for RUN include "Aéroport de la Réunion Roland Garros" and "Saint Denis Gillot Airport".
• Roland Garros Airport (RUN) has 2 runways.
• Because of Roland Garros Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Roland Garros 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.
• The furthest airport from Roland Garros Airport (RUN) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,615 miles (18,693 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 66 feet above mean sea level.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (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 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.
• A new chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson's host unit.
• For the next 34 years, the 5010th served as host-unit at Eielson.
• On 7 June 1943, the Western Defense Command ordered construction of a new airfield near present-day Fort Wainwright, then an Army airfield named after Major Arthur Ladd.
• 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.
• The 375th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, from the 308th Bombardment Group at Tinker AFB Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson on 5 March 1949.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".