Nonstop flight route between Akureyri, Iceland and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Akureyri Airport (AEY), Akureyri, Iceland and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,992 miles (or 4,815 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 Akureyri Airport and Grand Forks 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 Akureyri Airport and Grand Forks 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 Akureyri Airport (AEY):

• Scheduled air travel to Akureyri started in 1928 when Flugfélag Íslands began flying on seaplanes to Reykjavík, landing on the fjord of Eyjafjörður near downtown Akureyri.
• In 1973, Loftleiðir and Flugfélag Íslands merged into Icelandair.
• In 1952, Loftleiðir decided to cease domestic flights and to concentrate on international flights to Europe and North America.
• The closest airport to Akureyri Airport (AEY) is Húsavík Airport (HZK), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NE of AEY.
• Akureyri Airport (AEY) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Akureyri Airport (AEY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,121 miles (17,897 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Akureyri Airport's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Akureyri 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.
• In 2008, Norlandair was founded, which serves destinations in north-eastern Iceland in cooperation with Air Iceland and various charter flights to Greenland.
• In addition to being known as "Akureyri Airport", another name for AEY is "Akureyrarflugvöllur".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The DC-11 SAGE blockhouse was later the headquarters of the SAC 321st Strategic Missile Wing.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.