Nonstop flight route between London, England, United Kingdom and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from LHR to SYA:
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- About this route
- LHR Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about LHR
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to LHR
- List of Nearest Airports to LHR
- Map of Furthest Airports from LHR
- List of Furthest Airports from LHR
- 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 London Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, England, United Kingdom and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,231 miles (or 8,419 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 London Heathrow 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 London Heathrow 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: | LHR / EGLL |
Airport Name: | London Heathrow Airport |
Location: | London, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 51°28'38"N by 0°27'41"W |
Area Served: | London, United Kingdom |
Operator/Owner: | Heathrow Airport Holdings |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 83 feet (25 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LHR |
More Information: | LHR Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
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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 London Heathrow Airport (LHR):
- Because of London Heathrow Airport's relatively low elevation of 83 feet, planes can take off or land at London Heathrow 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.
- Terminal 1 opened in 1968 and was formally inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1969.
- In the 1950s, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles in the shape of a hexagram with the permanent passenger terminal in the middle and the older terminal along the north edge of the field, and two of its runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction.
- The furthest airport from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,875 miles (19,112 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The airport holds a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence, which allows flights for public transportation of passengers or for flying instruction.
- The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings, which also owns and operates three other UK airports, and is itself owned by FGP TopCo Limited, an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group that includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
- Heathrow Airport started in 1929 as a small airfield on land south-east of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name.
- The closest airport to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is RAF Northolt (NHT), which is located only 6 miles (9 kilometers) NNE of LHR.
- Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control then guide the aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles apart.
- London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has 2 runways.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- 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.
- The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.