Nonstop flight route between Rifle, Colorado, United States and Alta, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL), Rifle, Colorado, United States and Alta Airport (ALF), Alta, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,484 miles (or 7,216 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 Garfield County Regional Airport and Alta 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 Garfield County Regional Airport and Alta 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 Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL):

• Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) E of RIL.
• The furthest airport from Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,972 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Garfield County Regional Airport's high elevation of 5,548 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.

Facts about Alta Airport (ALF):

• Alta Airport (ALF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Services were at first operated by Scandinavian Airlines System.
• The closest airport to Alta Airport (ALF) is Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of ALF.
• Plans for expanding the 1,670-square-meter terminal facilities were first articulated by the Civil Airport Administration in the 1990s.
• In addition to being known as "Alta Airport", another name for ALF is "Alta lufthavn".
• The location in Elvebakken was somewhat controversial in Alta, especially as the airport would be located so close to the town center, potentially causing noise pollution.
• The furthest airport from Alta Airport (ALF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,502 miles (16,901 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A proposal by a consultant company, ordered by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in 2011, suggested that starting in 2013 the subsidized routes in Finnmark should follow a coastal route, leaving those to Kirkenes and the county capital of Vadsø as the only subsidized routes remaining at Alta.
• Because of Alta Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Alta 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.
• Alta Airport handled 353,051 passengers last year.
• However, no progress was made with the airfield for over a decade.