Nonstop flight route between Waterford, Ireland and Fairbanks, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Waterford Airport (WAT), Waterford, Ireland and Eielson Air Force Base (EIL), Fairbanks, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,086 miles (or 6,575 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 Waterford Airport and Eielson 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 Waterford Airport and Eielson 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 Waterford Airport (WAT):

• Because of Waterford Airport's relatively low elevation of 119 feet, planes can take off or land at Waterford 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.
• Flybe announced a route to Manchester starting 22 May 2013, which was dropped by Aer Lingus Regional on 6 January.
• The closest airport to Waterford Airport (WAT) is Kilkenny Airport (KKY), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) NNW of WAT.
• Between 1987 and 1988 Aer Lingus operated services to Dublin.
• Airport development was initiated by Waterford Corporation with support from the Government of Ireland and the private sector in 1979–1980.
• Waterford Airport handled 8,000 passengers last year.
• The fully upgraded and remodelled connecting regional road, R708, from Waterford city to the airport was completed in early July 2008, reducing the journey time from Waterford city centre to the airport to 10 minutes at off peak times and from the outer ring road, R470, to the airport to 5 minutes.
• In addition to being known as "Waterford Airport", another name for WAT is "Aerfort Phort Láirge".
• The airport is on the R708 road which can be accessed from the R710 outer ring road in Waterford.
• The furthest airport from Waterford Airport (WAT) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is nearly antipodal to Waterford Airport (meaning Waterford Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ryan's Creek Aerodrome), and is located 12,013 miles (19,333 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.

Facts about Eielson Air Force Base (EIL):

• A month later, contractors and civilian crews from Ladd Field started laying out the new airfield.
• In addition to being known as "Eielson Air Force Base", another name for EIL is "Eielson AFB".
• The closest airport to Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Ladd Army Airfield (FBK), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) NW of EIL.
• In July 1960, the Strategic Air Command stationed the 4157th Combat Support Group at Eielson.
• The furthest airport from Eielson Air Force Base (EIL) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,295 miles (16,568 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s.
• Today the 1st Brigade 25th Infantry Division and the 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division can be found training there.