Nonstop flight route between Spokane, Washington, United States and Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SKA to HEL:
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- About this route
- SKA Airport Information
- HEL Airport Information
- Facts about SKA
- Facts about HEL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SKA
- List of Nearest Airports to SKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SKA
- List of Furthest Airports from SKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to HEL
- List of Nearest Airports to HEL
- Map of Furthest Airports from HEL
- List of Furthest Airports from HEL
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA), Spokane, Washington, United States and Helsinki Airport (HEL), Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,690 miles (or 7,549 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Helsinki 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 Fairchild Air Force Base and Helsinki Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SKA / KSKA |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Spokane, Washington, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 47°36'54"N by 117°39'20"W |
View all routes: | Routes from SKA |
More Information: | SKA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | HEL / EFHK |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Helsinki / Vantaa, Finland |
GPS Coordinates: | 60°19'1"N by 24°57'47"E |
Area Served: | Helsinki, Finland |
Operator/Owner: | Finavia |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 179 feet (55 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from HEL |
More Information: | HEL Maps & Info |
Facts about Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA):
- The closest airport to Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Spokane International Airport (GEG), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) E of SKA.
- On 13 March 1987, a KC-135A crashed into a field adjacent to the 92nd Bomb Wing headquarters and the taxiway during a practice flight for an In-Flight Refueling Demonstration planned for later that month.
- Fairchild’s location, 12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.
- In late 1974, the Air Force announced plans to convert the 141st Fighter Interceptor Group of the Washington Air National Guard, an F-101 Voodoo unit at Geiger Field, to an air refueling mission with KC-135 aircraft.
- Since 1942, Fairchild Air Force Base/Station has been a key part of the United States' defense strategy—from World War II repair depot, to Strategic Air Command bomber wing during the Cold War, to Air Mobility Command air refueling wing during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.
- With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, both groups deployed to Japan and Guam.
- Following the destruction of the World Trade Center, the wing began providing around-the-clock air refueling of Combat Air Patrol fighter aircraft and initiated 24-hour ground alert operations in support of Operation Noble Eagle.
- The furthest airport from Fairchild Air Force Base (SKA) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,665 miles (17,163 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- In addition to being known as "Fairchild Air Force Base", another name for SKA is "Fairchild AFB".
- As military operations in Vietnam escalated in the mid-1960s, the demand for air refueling increased.
Facts about Helsinki Airport (HEL):
- Helsinki Airport handled 15,279,043 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Helsinki-Malmi Airport (HEM), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) SSE of HEL.
- In 2013 Finavia announced plans to expand the airport to serve up to 20 million passenger by 2020.
- Helsinki Airport (HEL) has 3 runways.
- The furthest airport from Helsinki Airport (HEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,992 miles (17,689 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- In addition to being known as "Helsinki Airport", another name for HEL is "Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasemaHelsingfors-Vanda flygplats".
- The Aviapolis is a new international business park adjacent to the Helsinki airport area, already hosting the operations of numerous companies around the airport.
- Coach connections, daytime and overnight, to all parts of Finland are provided by Matkahuolto and ExpressBus.
- Because of Helsinki Airport's relatively low elevation of 179 feet, planes can take off or land at Helsinki 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.