Nonstop flight route between Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA), Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,415 miles (or 5,495 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport 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 Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA):

• The furthest airport from Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,463 miles (18,449 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The airport once had three intersecting runways with a parallel taxiway system that connected them to the aircraft parking apron.
• Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 801 feet, planes can take off or land at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial 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 airport's terminal building houses a fixed base operator operated by the City of Spartanburg.
• South Carolina's first commercial airport was opened in 1927.
• The closest airport to Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport (SPA) is Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) W of SPA.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• 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.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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 first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• 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.
• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.