Nonstop flight route between Minot, North Dakota, United States and Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Minot Air Force Base (MIB), Minot, North Dakota, United States and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,913 miles (or 6,297 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 Minot Air Force Base 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 Minot Air Force Base 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 Minot Air Force Base (MIB):

• In addition to being known as "Minot Air Force Base", another name for MIB is "Minot AFB".
• In 1993 control of the ICBM force was transferred by ACC to Air Force Space Command.
• In July 1968, the 450th Bombardment Wing and 455th Strategic Missile Wing were inactivated, being from Travis AFB, California, when jurisdiction of Travis was assumed by the Military Airlift Command and the 91st Strategic Missile Wing from Glasgow AFB, Montana, when it closed.
• The furthest airport from Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,320 miles (16,609 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 810th Strategic Aerospace Division was inactivated 30 June 1971.
• Construction of Minot AFB began in May 1956 and it officially opened on 10 January 1957, named for the nearby city of Minot.
• Renamed Aerospace Defense Command in 1968, ADC F-106 operations continued at Minot until ADC was deactivated in 1979 and became a part of Tactical Air Command as a subentity referred to as Tactical Air Command – Air Defense.
• replaced by the 5th Bombardment Wing
• The closest airport to Minot Air Force Base (MIB) is Minot International Airport (MOT), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) SSE of MIB.

Facts about Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• The route had doubled its patronage since its introduction by 1953—the last year it was operated by DNL.
• 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.
• Finnair terminated their services to Kirkenes in 1975.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• Høybuktmoen was selected by the Luftwaffe as one of three air stations in Northern Norway, along with Bardufoss Airport and Lakselv Airport, Banak.
• 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 handled 297,149 passengers last year.
• The project was estimated to cost 267 million Norwegian krone.
• Three airlines serve the airport with scheduled flights.
• In addition to being known as "Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen", another name for KKN is "Kirkenes lufthavn, Høybuktmoen".