Nonstop flight route between Alta, Norway and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Alta Airport (ALF), Alta, Norway and Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM), Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,626 miles (or 5,836 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 Alta Airport and Sault Ste. Marie Airport, 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 Alta Airport and Sault Ste. Marie Airport. 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 Alta Airport (ALF):

• Local politicians started discussing the airfield plans again in the mid-1950s, and an airport for Alta was included in the national airport plan launched in 1956.
• Alta Airport handled 353,051 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Alta Airport (ALF) is Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of ALF.
• SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990, making Alta its central hub for Finnmark.
• The airport is located at Elvebakken and Altagård, on the southern shore of the Altafjord and at the mouth of the river of Altaelva, which is about 4 kilometers east of Bossekop in the town of Alta.
• The furthest airport from Alta Airport (ALF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,502 miles (16,901 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Alta Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Alta 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.
• A proposal by a consultant company, ordered by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in 2011, suggested that starting in 2013 the subsidized routes in Finnmark should follow a coastal route, leaving those to Kirkenes and the county capital of Vadsø as the only subsidized routes remaining at Alta.
• Plans for expanding the 1,670-square-meter terminal facilities were first articulated by the Civil Airport Administration in the 1990s.
• Alta Airport (ALF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Alta Airport", another name for ALF is "Alta lufthavn".
• Avinor decided in February 2007 to build a new passenger terminal and tower for NOK 300 million.

Facts about Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM):

• The airport hosts the flight-training campus for Sault College as well as the Soo Aviation flying school, resulting in frequent training flights in the vicinity.
• Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) has 2 runways.
• Because of Sault Ste. Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 632 feet, planes can take off or land at Sault Ste. Marie 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 2010, the airport ranked 34th among Canadian airports for total number of aircraft movements, with 51,279 movements.
• The furthest airport from Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,093 miles (17,853 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Sault Ste. Marie Airport (YAM) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of YAM.