Nonstop flight route between Zaragoza, Spain and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ), Zaragoza, Spain and Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,113 miles (or 8,228 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 Zaragoza 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 Zaragoza 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 Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ):

• The closest airport to Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Huesca–Pirineos Airport (HSK), which is located 47 miles (75 kilometers) NE of ZAZ.
• Zaragoza was one of three major USAF Cold War airbases in Spain, the others being Torrejón Air Base near Madrid and Morón Air Base near Seville.
• In addition to being known as "Zaragoza Airport", another name for ZAZ is "Aeropuerto de Zaragoza".
• Because of Zaragoza Airport's relatively low elevation of 863 feet, planes can take off or land at Zaragoza 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 construction work on Zaragoza Airport began in September 1954 with the enlargement and improvement of the existing Spanish Air Force Base located there.
• The furthest airport from Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) is Hood Aerodrome (MRO), which is nearly antipodal to Zaragoza Airport (meaning Zaragoza Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hood Aerodrome), and is located 12,258 miles (19,727 kilometers) away in Masterton, New Zealand.
• Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ) has 2 runways.

Facts about Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF):

• 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.
• On 12 November 1940, the War Department formally designated what had been popularly referred to as Elmendorf Field as Fort Richardson.
• Air defense forces reached their zenith in 1957 with almost 200 fighter aircraft assigned to six fighter interceptor squadrons located at Elmendorf AFB and Ladd AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Elmendorf Air Force Base", another name for EDF is "JB Elmendorf-Richardson".
• The uncertain world situation in late 1940s and early 1950s caused a major buildup of air defense forces in Alaska.
• The closest airport to Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF) is Merrill Field (MRI), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) SSW of EDF.
• The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program announced on 13 May 2005.