Nonstop flight route between Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport (YRO), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,053 miles (or 4,914 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 Ottawa/Rockcliffe 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 Ottawa/Rockcliffe 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 Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport (YRO):

• During the 1970s the airport was also used for scheduled short takeoff and landing commercial flights to the short-lived Victoria STOLport near downtown Montreal.
• The furthest airport from Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport (YRO) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,458 miles (18,440 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport's relatively low elevation of 188 feet, planes can take off or land at Ottawa/Rockcliffe 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 Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport (YRO) is Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport (YND), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NE of YRO.
• Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport (YRO) currently has only 1 runway.

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.
• That importance was further recognized when the F-15E Strike Eagle equipped 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base from Clark Air Base in the Philippines in May 1991.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• Following World War II, Elmendorf assumed an increasing role in the defense of North America as the uncertain wartime relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.