Nonstop flight route between State College, Pennsylvania, United States and Alta, Norway:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between University Park Airport (SCE), State College, Pennsylvania, United States and Alta Airport (ALF), Alta, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,846 miles (or 6,189 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 University Park 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 University Park 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 University Park Airport (SCE):

• Starting in the 1950s, private pilots in the area had constructed a small airport on land leased from Penn State, just north of State College.
• University Park Airport (SCE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Construction on the airport's new control tower began on January 8, 2010 and was completed in early August 2011.
• The closest airport to University Park Airport (SCE) is Mid-State Regional Airport (PSB), which is located only 13 miles (20 kilometers) W of SCE.
• In addition to being known as "University Park Airport", another name for SCE is "UNV".
• The furthest airport from University Park Airport (SCE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,582 miles (18,639 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Alta Airport (ALF):

• SAS bought Braathens in 2001, resulting in the latter taking over the service to Oslo starting on 1 April 2002.
• In addition to being known as "Alta Airport", another name for ALF is "Alta lufthavn".
• 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.
• Construction started in February 1962 and cost NOK 3.2 million.
• 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.
• Alta Airport handled 353,051 passengers last year.
• Local politicians started discussing the airfield plans again in the mid-1950s, and an airport for Alta was included in the national airport plan launched in 1956.
• Alta Airport (ALF) currently has only 1 runway.
• SAS Commuter was established in 1988 and started operations in Northern Norway in May 1990, making Alta its central hub for Finnmark.
• 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 closest airport to Alta Airport (ALF) is Lakselv Airport, Banak (LKL), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of ALF.
• The airport is located at Elvebakken and Altagård, on the southern shore of the Altafjord and at the mouth of the river of Altaelva, which is about 4 kilometers east of Bossekop in the town of Alta.