Nonstop flight route between Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sligo Airport (SXL), Strandhill (near Sligo), Ireland and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,181 miles (or 6,728 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 Sligo 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 Sligo 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 Sligo Airport (SXL):

• The closest airport to Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) SSW of SXL.
• Euroceltic were operating the Government of Ireland public service obligation subsidy scheme for the route to Dublin at the time.
• In addition to being known as "Sligo Airport", another name for SXL is "Aerfort Shligigh".
• Sligo Airport (SXL) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Sligo Airport's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Sligo 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 Irish Government commissioned Value for Money Review of Exchequer Funding on the Regional Airports Programme recommended the ending of operational subvention to the airport and the ending of the PSO designation citing poor performance, growing operational costs and development of alternative transport connections to the region.
• In common with airports such as Gibraltar and Funchal, there is a lack of safety margin for under/overshoots as the peninsula upon which the airport is situated is less than 2 km long.
• The furthest airport from Sligo Airport (SXL) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,907 miles (19,162 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• The airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.
• 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.
• A section of the airport is built over the closed Merrill Field Land Fill.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• 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.