Nonstop flight route between Sofia, Bulgaria and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SOF to MRI:
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- About this route
- SOF Airport Information
- MRI Airport Information
- Facts about SOF
- Facts about MRI
- Map of Nearest Airports to SOF
- List of Nearest Airports to SOF
- Map of Furthest Airports from SOF
- List of Furthest Airports from SOF
- Map of Nearest Airports to MRI
- List of Nearest Airports to MRI
- Map of Furthest Airports from MRI
- List of Furthest Airports from MRI
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF), Sofia, Bulgaria and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,247 miles (or 8,445 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna and Merrill Field, 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 Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna and Merrill Field. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SOF / LBSF |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
GPS Coordinates: | 42°41'42"N by 23°24'29"E |
Area Served: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
Operator/Owner: | Sofia Airport EAD |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1742 feet (531 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SOF |
More Information: | SOF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MRI / PAMR |
Airport Name: | Merrill Field |
Location: | Anchorage, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°12'48"N by 149°50'39"W |
Operator/Owner: | Municipality of Anchorage |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 137 feet (42 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from MRI |
More Information: | MRI Maps & Info |
Facts about Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF):
- Two de-icing platforms are constructed to allow centralised de-icing procedures in winter.
- In addition to being known as "Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna", other names for SOF include "Vrazhdebna Airport" and "Летище София".
- The new Sofia tower will be situated to the west of Terminal 2 and will be complementing the terminal building in architectural terms.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna handled 350,432 passengers last year.
- Terminal 2 was officially opened on 27 December 2006 with the symbolic arrival of Bulgaria Air flight FB 408 from Brussels.
- Lufthansa Technik Sofia was founded in late 2007 as a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and the Bulgarian Aviation Group.
- The furthest airport from Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,437 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) currently has only 1 runway.
- Design and construction of a new control tower was discussed in 2006 but this project appeared to be in abeyance by 2008.
- The project for the construction of a new airport control tower at Sofia Airport commenced on 16 June 2006 with a decision of the BULATSA Management Board.
- The closest airport to Sofia Airport Vrazhdebna (SOF) is Plovdiv Airport (PDV), which is located 86 miles (138 kilometers) ESE of SOF.
- A significant and recurring operational criticism of Sofia Airport has concerned its historical lack of all-weather operations capability.
- By the late 1970s, the terminal was handling in the region of three million passengers a year, a million of them on domestic routes.
Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):
- Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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.
- Merrill Field is home to the University of Alaska Anchorage's Aviation Technology Division, as well as two locally-owned flight schools, air taxi services, and fixed base operators.
- The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
- The airstrip is still in use today as the primary field for private wheel equipped aircraft in the warmer months and for ski equipped in the winter.