Nonstop flight route between Værøy, Nordland, Norway and Anchorage, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Værøy Heliport (VRY), Værøy, Nordland, Norway and Merrill Field (MRI), Anchorage, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,490 miles (or 5,617 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 Værøy Heliport and Merrill Field, 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 Værøy Heliport and Merrill Field. 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 Værøy Heliport (VRY):

• In addition to being known as "Værøy Heliport", another name for VRY is "Værøy helikopterhavn".
• With state-financed operations the service was made subject to public service obligations.
• Because of Værøy Heliport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Værøy Heliport 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.
• On 19 January 1989, a Widerøe Twin Otter became uncontrollable due to turbulence during final approach to Værøy.
• The closest airport to Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Røst Airport (RET), which is located only 19 miles (30 kilometers) WSW of VRY.
• Værøy Heliport handled 10,210 passengers last year.
• The furthest airport from Værøy Heliport (VRY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 10,759 miles (17,314 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The airport was closed immediately after the accident.
• One of the helicopters was bought by Widerøe in December 1976 and the operations were subcontracted to Offshore Helicopters.

Facts about Merrill Field (MRI):

• Merrill Field, located on the east end of 5th Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska, was the only airport serving Anchorage until 1951 when the introduction of ever larger and faster commercial aircraft required that an airfield with longer and heavier runways be built.
• This was the first official airport in Anchorage when it opened in 1930.
• Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S.
• The closest airport to Merrill Field (MRI) is Elmendorf Air Force Base (EDF), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) NNE of MRI.
• The furthest airport from Merrill Field (MRI) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,545 miles (16,970 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• Merrill Field (MRI) has 3 runways.
• Because of Merrill Field's relatively low elevation of 137 feet, planes can take off or land at Merrill Field 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.