Nonstop flight route between Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway and Tacoma, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway and Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,602 miles (or 5,797 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear and Gray Army Airfield, 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear and Gray Army Airfield. 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 Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR):

• The first air strip on Svalbard was constructed in Adventdalen, near Longyearbyen, by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
• In addition to being known as "Svalbard Airport, Longyear", another name for LYR is "Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear".
• Lufttransport has a base at Svalbard Airport with two 19-seat Dornier Do 228-202K aircraft and 15 employees.
• Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,170 miles (16,367 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• There are 200 free outdoor parking spaces at the airport.
• The closest airport to Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG), which is located 534 miles (859 kilometers) SSE of LYR.
• The airport is located 1.6 nautical miles northwest of Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on Svalbard.
• Svalbard Airport, Longyear handled 126,350 passengers last year.
• Both Braathens SAFE and SAS applied for the concession to fly from the mainland to Norway.
• Construction started in 1973.
• Because of Svalbard Airport, Longyear's relatively low elevation of 94 feet, planes can take off or land at Svalbard Airport, Longyear 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.

Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):

• In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
• It should not confused with Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood in Texas.
• Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
• During the Vietnam War, GAAF not only trained helicopter units, but fixed-wing aircraft units as well.
• 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.
• 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 91st Observation Squadron and aircraft of the 3rd Balloon Squadron operated out of the Fort Lewis airfield.
• In 1926, the War Department observing aviation expansion overseas requested additional aviation funding.
• 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.