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):

• Akureyri Airport is a single-runway international airport in Akureyri, Iceland located about 3 km south of the town center.
• 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.
• Furthermore there are occasional charter flights.
• The closest airport to Akureyri Airport (AEY) is Húsavík Airport (HZK), which is located 27 miles (44 kilometers) NE of 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.
• Akureyri Airport (AEY) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2006 Mýflug, under a contract with the Icelandic government, began providing ambulance flight service to Iceland, with a specially equipped aircraft based at Akureyri airport.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Akureyri Airport", another name for AEY is "Akureyrarflugvöllur".

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 November 1964, 321st Strategic Missile Wing was organized as the Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile wing at GFAFB, the first in SAC.
• In 1973, the 319th Bomb Wing acquired the AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missile, replacing the older AGM-28 Hound Dog air-to-ground missile aboard its B-52H aircraft.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• 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.
• 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.
• Survey teams selected sites in flat wheatlands close to the Canada-Minnesota border, north-northwest of Grand Forks.