Nonstop flight route between Sikasso, Mali and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sikasso Airport (KSS), Sikasso, Mali and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,012 miles (or 12,894 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 Sikasso 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 Sikasso 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:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sikasso Airport (KSS):

• The furthest airport from Sikasso Airport (KSS) is Funafuti International Airport (FUN), which is nearly antipodal to Sikasso Airport (meaning Sikasso Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Funafuti International Airport), and is located 12,051 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Funafuti, Tuvalu.
• The closest airport to Sikasso Airport (KSS) is Koutiala Airport (KTX), which is located 74 miles (119 kilometers) NNE of KSS.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• 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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.