Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,247 miles (or 6,835 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 Gray Army Airfield and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen, 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 Gray Army Airfield and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen. 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 Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• The closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
• The furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Gray Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Gray Army Airfield 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.
• Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• In October 1921 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point to a grass airfield at what was then called "Camp Lewis", located at a site just west of today’s Gray AAF.
• Used to support Fort Lewis, Army helicopters assisted with medical evacuations at Mount Rainier National Park on numerous occasions in the 1970s.
• The Air Transport Command.
• August 1984 saw GAAF become one of few test centers for the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.

Facts about Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen handled 297,149 passengers last year.
• In addition to being known as "Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen", another name for KKN is "Kirkenes lufthavn, Høybuktmoen".
• Finnair terminated their services to Kirkenes in 1975.
• In the period 2015 to 2020, Avinor plans to build a new control tower and a new fire- and rescue station.
• The furthest airport from Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,424 miles (16,775 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen 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 first aircraft to land in Sør-Varanger was part of a trial undertaken in 1922 by the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service to test the flight time from Horten to Kirkenes.
• The closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen is an international airport located at Høybuktmoen, 15 kilometers west of the town of Kirkenes, in the municipality of Sør-Varanger, Finnmark county, Norway.
• Busy Bee was contracted by the Norwegian Armed Forces to fly military charters in June 1968.
• The runway is located southwest–northeast and is 2,015 by 45 meters.
• Instead, in 1940 the German occupation of Norway terminated all civilian aviation until 1945.