Nonstop flight route between Midland, Texas, United States and Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF), Midland, Texas, United States and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,016 miles (or 8,072 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 Midland International AirportMidland 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 Midland International AirportMidland 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 Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF):

• Midland International Airport started as Sloan Field, a small airport started in 1927 by Samuel Addison Sloan.
• The furthest airport from Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,209 miles (18,038 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of MAF.
• Midland-Odessa Regional Airport opened its new passenger terminal in the early 1960s.
• The terminal building looked tired, and airport officials began planning for a replacement.
• The first group of cadets, Class 42–6, arrived for training from Ellington, Texas, on February 6, 1942.
• Prominent businessmen in Midland could foresee the possibility of a military base in West Texas and in 1940 they started promoting the airport for use as a training base to the military establishment in Washington.
• In 2012 the Midland City Council amended a contract allowing three teams of experts, the Midland International Airport, Parkhill, and Smith & Cooper which will permit them to provide all of the necessary elements to complete a commercial space launch site application.
• Midland International AirportMidland Army Airfield (MAF) has 4 runways.

Facts about Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• The closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• The project was estimated to cost 267 million Norwegian krone.
• 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.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen handled 297,149 passengers last year.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen", another name for KKN is "Kirkenes lufthavn, Høybuktmoen".
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Varangfly merged with two other airlines in 1970 to create the Kirkenes-based Norving.
• The runway was extended eastwards by 290 meters in the late 1990s.
• 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.
• 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 route had doubled its patronage since its introduction by 1953—the last year it was operated by DNL.