Nonstop flight route between Nairobi, Kenya and Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from WIL to LYR:
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- About this route
- WIL Airport Information
- LYR Airport Information
- Facts about WIL
- Facts about LYR
- Map of Nearest Airports to WIL
- List of Nearest Airports to WIL
- Map of Furthest Airports from WIL
- List of Furthest Airports from WIL
- Map of Nearest Airports to LYR
- List of Nearest Airports to LYR
- Map of Furthest Airports from LYR
- List of Furthest Airports from LYR
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Wilson Airport (WIL), Nairobi, Kenya and Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,554 miles (or 8,938 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 Wilson Airport and Svalbard Airport, Longyear, 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 Wilson Airport and Svalbard Airport, Longyear. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | WIL / HKNW |
Airport Name: | Wilson Airport |
Location: | Nairobi, Kenya |
GPS Coordinates: | 1°19'12"S by 36°48'53"E |
Area Served: | Nairobi |
Operator/Owner: | Kenya Airports Authority |
Airport Type: | Public, Civilian |
Elevation: | 5546 feet (1,690 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from WIL |
More Information: | WIL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LYR / ENSB |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway |
GPS Coordinates: | 78°14'45"N by 15°27'56"E |
Area Served: | Svalbard, Norway |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 94 feet (29 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LYR |
More Information: | LYR Maps & Info |
Facts about Wilson Airport (WIL):
- The closest airport to Wilson Airport (WIL) is Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of WIL.
- The furthest airport from Wilson Airport (WIL) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,619 miles (18,698 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
- Airkenya and other small airlines use Wilson Airport for scheduled domestic passenger services, instead of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
- Wilson Airport (WIL) has 2 runways.
- Because of Wilson Airport's high elevation of 5,546 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at WIL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make WIL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The airport serves domestic and international traffic.
Facts about Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR):
- There are 200 free outdoor parking spaces at the airport.
- The furthest airport from Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,170 miles (16,367 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
- Because of Svalbard Airport, Longyear's relatively low elevation of 94 feet, planes can take off or land at Svalbard Airport, Longyear 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.
- Svalbard Airport, Longyear handled 126,350 passengers last year.
- In addition to being known as "Svalbard Airport, Longyear", another name for LYR is "Svalbard lufthavn, Longyear".
- In 2011, the airport had 126,350 passengers.Scandinavian Airlines operates daily flights to Tromsø and Oslo in mainland Norway.
- Construction started in 1973.
- The first night landing was made on 8 December 1965.
- Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Svalbard Airport, Longyear (LYR) is Honningsvåg Airport, Valan (HVG), which is located 534 miles (859 kilometers) SSE of LYR.