Nonstop flight route between Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada and Nikolai, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between CFB Goose Bay (YYR), Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada and Nikolai Airport (NIB), Nikolai, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,170 miles (or 5,102 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 CFB Goose Bay 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 CFB Goose Bay 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 CFB Goose Bay (YYR):

• The closest airport to CFB Goose Bay (YYR) is Rigolet Airport (YRG), which is located 100 miles (161 kilometers) NE of YYR.
• The furthest airport from CFB Goose Bay (YYR) is Albany Airport (ALH), which is located 11,164 miles (17,967 kilometers) away in Albany, Western Australia, Australia.
• While the flat and relatively weather-favored area around North West River had for years been under consideration for an airport for the anticipated North Atlantic air routes, it was not until Eric Fry of the Dominion Geodetic Survey investigated the area on 1 July 1941 that the Goose Bay location was selected.
• Because of CFB Goose Bay's relatively low elevation of 160 feet, planes can take off or land at CFB Goose Bay 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 "CFB Goose Bay", another name for YYR is "Goose Bay Airport".
• In 2004 the RAF announced its intent to close the permanent RAF detachment, effective 31 March 2005.
• CFB Goose Bay (YYR) has 2 runways.
• In response to lessons learned from the Vietnam War and the growing sophistication of Soviet anti-aircraft radar and surface-to-air missile technology being deployed in Europe, NATO allies began looking at new doctrines in the 1970s–1980s which mandated low-level flight to evade detection.
• Labradorian politicians such as former Liberal Senator Bill Rompkey have advocated using CFB Goose Bay as a site for a missile defense radar system being developed by the United States Department of Defense.

Facts about Nikolai Airport (NIB):

• 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.
• Nikolai Airport (NIB) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Nikolai Airport (NIB) is McGrath Airport (MCG), which is located 39 miles (63 kilometers) W of NIB.
• As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the airport had 364 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, a decrease of 21% from the 459 enplanements in 2007.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Nikolai Airport", other names for NIB include "FSP" and "Nikolai".