Nonstop flight route between Goroka, Papua New Guinea and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GKA to SYA:
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- About this route
- GKA Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about GKA
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GKA
- List of Nearest Airports to GKA
- Map of Furthest Airports from GKA
- List of Furthest Airports from GKA
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Goroka Airport (GKA), Goroka, Papua New Guinea and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,397 miles (or 7,076 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 Goroka Airport and Eareckson Air Station, 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 Goroka Airport and Eareckson Air Station. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GKA / AYGA |
Airport Name: | Goroka Airport |
Location: | Goroka, Papua New Guinea |
GPS Coordinates: | 6°4'54"S by 145°23'30"E |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 5282 feet (1,610 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GKA |
More Information: | GKA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Goroka Airport (GKA):
- Because of Goroka Airport's high elevation of 5,282 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GKA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GKA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- Goroka Airport (GKA) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Goroka Airport (GKA) is Governador Carlos Wilson Airport (FEN), which is located 11,734 miles (18,884 kilometers) away in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
- The closest airport to Goroka Airport (GKA) is Chimbu Airport (CMU), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) W of GKA.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
- On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
- Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station 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 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu.