Nonstop flight route between Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom and Cold Bay, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kirkwall Airport (KOI), Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, United Kingdom and Cold Bay Airport (CDB), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,470 miles (or 7,194 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 Kirkwall Airport and Cold Bay 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 Kirkwall Airport and Cold Bay 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 Kirkwall Airport (KOI):

• Because of Kirkwall Airport's relatively low elevation of 58 feet, planes can take off or land at Kirkwall 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.
• Kirkwall Airport (KOI) has 2 runways.
• Kirkwall Airport handled 145,897 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,525 miles (18,548 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Kirkwall Airport (KOI) is Stronsay Airport (SOY), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) NE of KOI.

Facts about Cold Bay Airport (CDB):

• Cold Bay Airport (CDB) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is King Cove Airport (KVC), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) ESE of CDB.
• Because of Cold Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cold Bay 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.
• The airfield was named Thornbrough Air Force Base in 1948 for Captain George W.
• The airport was constructed during World War II as Fort Randall Army Airfield during the secret military buildup of the Territory of Alaska that began in 1941.
• The furthest airport from Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,968 miles (17,652 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Cold Bay Airport", other names for CDB include "Cold Bay Air Force Station" and "Fort Randall Army Airfield".
• Cold Bay Airport is a state owned, public use airport located in Cold Bay, a city in the Aleutians East Borough of the U.S.
• It was redesignated from Army Air Base to an Air Force Base on 28 March 1948 along with seven other Army Air Bases in Alaska.
• On October 30, 2013 a Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300 on the flight from Tokyo to San Francisco landed on the airport due to an engine shut-down.