Nonstop flight route between Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway and Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR), Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,775 miles (or 6,075 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen and Kincheloe 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen and Kincheloe 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• Busy Bee was contracted by the Norwegian Armed Forces to fly military charters in June 1968.
• 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.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• SAS introduced the 52-passenger Convair Metropolitan on their domestic services, while Finnair served the airport with the 30-seat Douglas DC-3 on their flights to Finland.
• SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990.
• The first service after the war was started by DNL on 13 October 1945 and flew to Tromsø, with onwards connection to Trondheim and Oslo.
• 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 closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• Planning for a new airport at Høybunktmoen was initiated by a committee established by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in 1947, and resulted in the National Plan of 1952.
• Instead, in 1940 the German occupation of Norway terminated all civilian aviation until 1945.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen handled 297,149 passengers last year.
• The route had doubled its patronage since its introduction by 1953—the last year it was operated by DNL.
• In addition to being known as "Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen", another name for KKN is "Kirkenes lufthavn, Høybuktmoen".
• In the period 2015 to 2020, Avinor plans to build a new control tower and a new fire- and rescue station.

Facts about Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR):

• The closest airport to Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Chippewa County International Airport (CIU), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of INR.
• Flying out of Kinross in 1953, pilot Felix Moncla and his plane disappeared while pursuing a UFO over the Soo Locks and Lake Superior.
• In October, 1952, the 4685th Air Base Squadron was assigned to the reactivated Kinross AFB.
• The 438th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was upgraded again to the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor in June 1960, one of the first ADC squadrons to receive the new interceptor.
• In December 1965, the Department of Defense announced a decision to close Kincheloe AFB by October 1971.
• In the 1950s, the Air Force adopted a policy of dispersing Strategic Air Command bombers and tankers.
• The furthest airport from Kincheloe Air Force Base (INR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,103 miles (17,869 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.