Nonstop flight route between Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Nikolai, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA), Roanoke, Virginia, United States and Nikolai Airport (NIB), Nikolai, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,482 miles (or 5,604 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Nikolai 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport and Nikolai 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 Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA):

• By 1934, American Airlines began service to Roanoke, but they later moved their operations to Lynchburg in 1937 due to the poor conditions in Roanoke.
• In the period following the Piedmont-USAir merger, Roanoke has seen various carriers enter and exit the local market.
• The closest airport to Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport (BCB), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) WSW of ROA.
• The furthest airport from Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• Throughout its history, Roanoke Regional Airport has had five separate control towers serve the airport.
• Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) has 2 runways.
• Local residents and businesses sometimes complain about the airport's limited number of non-stop flights and lack of low priced fares.
• In an effort to add more options for travelers in Roanoke, the airport added non-stop service to Orlando in May 2006 and Tampa in December 2006 with Allegiant Air.
• In addition to being known as "Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport", another name for ROA is "Woodrum Field".
• Although Roanoke has never had international passenger service, in 2001, the Airport Commission was prepared to change the airport's name to Roanoke International Airport.

Facts about Nikolai Airport (NIB):

• The closest airport to Nikolai Airport (NIB) is McGrath Airport (MCG), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) W of NIB.
• Nikolai Airport (NIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Nikolai Airport", other names for NIB include "FSP" and "Nikolai".
• The furthest airport from Nikolai Airport (NIB) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,431 miles (16,787 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Because of Nikolai Airport's relatively low elevation of 441 feet, planes can take off or land at Nikolai 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.