Nonstop flight route between Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway and Shimojishima, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway and Shimojishima Airport (SHI), Shimojishima, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,739 miles (or 7,627 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 Shimojishima 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen and Shimojishima 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 Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen handled 297,149 passengers last year.
• 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.
• Høybuktmoen was selected by the Luftwaffe as one of three air stations in Northern Norway, along with Bardufoss Airport and Lakselv Airport, Banak.
• The airport is located next to European Road E6.Boreal Transport operates an airport coach service from Kirkenes to the airport in connection with all arrivals and departures.
• 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.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Arctic Air took over Widerøe's flights to Vardø in 2000, using a 19-passenger Dornier Do 228.
• The closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• In addition to being known as "Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen", another name for KKN is "Kirkenes lufthavn, Høybuktmoen".
• 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.

Facts about Shimojishima Airport (SHI):

• Because of Shimojishima Airport's relatively low elevation of 25 feet, planes can take off or land at Shimojishima 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.
• As of early 2013, serious consideration was being given to basing a detachment of JASDF F-15J fighters out of the Airport, in order to provide better air defense coverage over the Senkaku Islands.
• The furthest airport from Shimojishima Airport (SHI) is Guaraní International Airport (AGT), which is nearly antipodal to Shimojishima Airport (meaning Shimojishima Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Guaraní International Airport), and is located 12,393 miles (19,945 kilometers) away in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.
• The closest airport to Shimojishima Airport (SHI) is Miyako Airport (MMY), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) ESE of SHI.
• Shimojishima Airport (SHI) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 2004, there were some protests over the use of the airport as a refueling stop by USMC helicopters returning from an exercise in the Philippines.
• In addition to being known as "Shimojishima Airport", other names for SHI include "下地島空港" and "Shimojishima Kūkō".