Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kiruna, Sweden:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kiruna Airport (KRN), Kiruna, Sweden would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,263 miles (or 6,860 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 McChord Field/McChord AFB and Kiruna 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 McChord Field/McChord AFB and Kiruna 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 McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM):

• In 1947 Tactical Air Command moved the 62d Troop Carrier Group to McChord Field from Bergstrom Field, Texas.
• Because of McChord Field/McChord AFB's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at McChord Field/McChord AFB 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.
• In addition to being known as "McChord Field/McChord AFB", another name for TCM is "Part of Air Mobility Command (AMC)".
• The 62d Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McChord Field.
• The furthest airport from McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,803 miles (17,386 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• Nearly all new heavy bomb groups organized after Pearl Harbor were organized and trained at Second Air Force Bases, by II Bomber Command operational training units then were deployed to combat commands around the world.
• Following the end of the war in Europe, McChord redeployed thousands of troops arriving from the European theater to the Pacific as part of Air Transport Command.
• The closest airport to McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) is Gray Army Airfield (GRF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SW of TCM.
• The McChord Air Force Base facility was consolidated with the United States Army Fort Lewis on 1 February 2010 to become part of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord complex.
• McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM) has 2 runways.

Facts about Kiruna Airport (KRN):

• The closest airport to Kiruna Airport (KRN) is Gällivare Airport (GEV), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KRN.
• The furthest airport from Kiruna Airport (KRN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,169 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On March 15, 2012, a Norwegian military transport plane, type Lockheed Hercules, crashed into the Kebnekaise mountain when approaching Kiruna Airport, the Norwegian C-130 Hercules accident.
• Kiruna Airport (KRN) currently has only 1 runway.