Nonstop flight route between Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Pierre Regional Airport (PIR), Pierre, South Dakota, United States and Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN), Kirkenes, Finnmark, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,162 miles (or 6,699 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 Pierre Regional Airport 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 Pierre Regional Airport 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 Pierre Regional Airport (PIR):

• Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Pierre Regional Airport", another name for PIR is "Pierre Army Airfield".
• The furthest airport from Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,493 miles (16,887 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces by Air Technical Service Command as a maintenance and supply depot.
• The closest airport to Pierre Regional Airport (PIR) is Mobridge Municipal Airport (MBG), which is located 81 miles (130 kilometers) N of PIR.

Facts about Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN):

• The first service after the war was started by DNL on 13 October 1945 and flew to Tromsø, with onwards connection to Trondheim and Oslo.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) is Vadsø Airport (VDS), which is located 24 miles (38 kilometers) N of KKN.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen (KKN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen handled 297,149 passengers last year.
• The project was estimated to cost 267 million Norwegian krone.
• The runway was extended eastwards by 290 meters in the late 1990s.
• 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.
• 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.
• Service between Kirkenes and Murmansk Airport were initiated by SAS Commuter in 1990, but the airline quickly terminated the service.Aeroflot started two weekly services between Kirkenes and Murmansk and onwards to Arkhangelsk Airport in June 1990.
• 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".