Nonstop flight route between Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Port Lions, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL), Wallops Island, Virginia, United States and Port Lions Airport (ORI), Port Lions, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,609 miles (or 5,809 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Port Lions Airport, 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport and Port Lions Airport. 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 Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL):

• Because of Wallops Flight Facility Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Wallops Flight Facility 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.
• On September 6, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer was launched from Wallops, atop a Minotaur V rocket.
• The Wallops mobile range instrumentation includes telemetry, radar, command and power systems.
• The closest airport to Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Accomack County Airport (MFV), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) SW of WAL.
• In the early years, research at Wallops concentrated on obtaining aerodynamic data at transonic and low supersonic speeds.
• The furthest airport from Wallops Flight Facility Airport (WAL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,785 miles (18,965 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Major Wallops facilities include FAA-certified runways.
• The WFF mobile range assets have been used to support rocket launches from locations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, South America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and at sea.

Facts about Port Lions Airport (ORI):

• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 2,386 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 2,666 enplanements in 2009, and 2,257 in 2010.
• The furthest airport from Port Lions Airport (ORI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,784 miles (17,355 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Port Lions Airport covers an area of 32 acres at an elevation of 52 feet above mean sea level.
• Because of Port Lions Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Port Lions 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 closest airport to Port Lions Airport (ORI) is Port Bailey Seaplane Base (KPY), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) WNW of ORI.
• Port Lions Airport (ORI) currently has only 1 runway.