Nonstop flight route between Abingdon, Virginia, United States and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI), Abingdon, Virginia, United States and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,313 miles (or 5,332 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 Virginia Highlands 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 Virginia Highlands 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 Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI):

• The closest airport to Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI) is Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) SW of VJI.
• Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Virginia Highlands Airport (VJI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,454 miles (18,433 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States military facility in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.
• 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 closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, Joint Task Force-Alaska, Eleventh Air Force, the 673d Air Base Wing, the 3rd Wing, the 176th Wing and other Tenant Units.
• The Elmendorf AFB is a site of one of the now decommissioned FLR-9 Wullenweber-class antennas, a node of the now obsolete High Frequency SIGINT direction finding system.
• The late 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s brought about a gradual, but significant decline in air defense forces in Alaska due to mission changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".