Nonstop flight route between Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tenerife North Airport (TFN), Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,713 miles (or 9,194 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 Tenerife North 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 Tenerife North 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 Tenerife North Airport (TFN):

• By 1964, runway 12/30 had been stretched to 3,000 m to accommodate the DC-8, new navigation aids were installed, and the apron was expanded to provide more parking spaces for aircraft.
• Tenerife North Airport was the scene of the Tenerife airport disaster, to date the worst accident in aviation history.
• Tenerife North Airport (TFN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Many years before the airport had even been built, the field at Los Rodeos was hastily prepared to accommodate the first flight into Tenerife operated by an Arado VI aircraft operating from Berlin on behalf of Deutsche Luft Hansa.
• Tenerife North Airport handled 3,717,944 passengers last year.
• By 1946, more hangars, a passenger terminal and an 800 m paved runway had been built, and the airport was officially opened to all national and international traffic.
• After the final location of the airport had been decided, funds were gathered between 1935 and 1939 to build a small hangar and begin expanding the airstrip which would become Los Rodeos.
• The furthest airport from Tenerife North Airport (TFN) is Norfolk Island Airport (NLK), which is nearly antipodal to Tenerife North Airport (meaning Tenerife North Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Norfolk Island Airport), and is located 12,175 miles (19,593 kilometers) away in Norfolk Island, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Tenerife North Airport", another name for TFN is "Aeropuerto de Tenerife Norte".
• The closest airport to Tenerife North Airport (TFN) is Tenerife-South Airport (TFS), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) SSW of TFN.

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.
• On 22 September 1995, a Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne early warning and control aircraft with 22 USAF personnel and two Canadian air crew members crashed after ingesting a flock of Canada Geese, killing all on board.
• The adjacent facilities were officially combined by the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
• 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.
• 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.
• The 1980s witnessed a period of growth and modernization of Elmendorf AFB.
• The first Air Force unit to be assigned to Alaska, the 18th Pursuit Squadron, arrived in February 1941.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".