Nonstop flight route between Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Alta, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS), Rock Springs, Wyoming, United States and Alta Airport (ALF), Alta, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,366 miles (or 7,027 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County 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 Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS):

• United Airlines DC-3s landed at Rock Springs until 1952.
• Because of Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport's high elevation of 6,765 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at RKS. Combined with a high temperature, this could make RKS a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,864 miles (17,484 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 25,541 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 19,458 in 2009 and 20,993 in 2010.
• The closest airport to Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) is Kemmerer Municipal Airport (EMM), which is located 79 miles (126 kilometers) WNW of RKS.
• Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport is eight miles east of Rock Springs, in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
• Rock Springs–Sweetwater County Airport (RKS) has 2 runways.

Facts about Alta Airport (ALF):

• 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.
• SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990, making Alta its central hub for Finnmark.
• Plans for expanding the 1,670-square-meter terminal facilities were first articulated by the Civil Airport Administration in the 1990s.
• 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.
• The first airport in Alta was built by the Wehrmacht during the German occupation of Norway.
• 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.
• The closest airport to Alta Airport (ALF) is Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of ALF.
• Alta Airport (ALF) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Alta Airport", another name for ALF is "Alta lufthavn".