Nonstop flight route between Mwanza, Tanzania and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from MWZ to SYA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- MWZ Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about MWZ
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MWZ
- List of Nearest Airports to MWZ
- Map of Furthest Airports from MWZ
- List of Furthest Airports from MWZ
- 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 Mwanza Airport (MWZ), Mwanza, Tanzania and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,316 miles (or 13,384 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 Mwanza 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 Mwanza 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: | MWZ / HTMW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Mwanza, Tanzania |
GPS Coordinates: | 2°26'39"S by 32°55'56"E |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Tanzania |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 3763 feet (1,147 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from MWZ |
More Information: | MWZ 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 Mwanza Airport (MWZ):
- Mwanza Airport handled 224,207 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Mwanza Airport (MWZ) is Musoma Airport (MUZ), which is located 89 miles (142 kilometers) NE of MWZ.
- The furthest airport from Mwanza Airport (MWZ) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is located 11,726 miles (18,871 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
- Mwanza Airport (MWZ) currently has only 1 runway.
- In addition to being known as "Mwanza Airport", another name for MWZ is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Mwanza (Swahili)".
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
- 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 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
- 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.
- The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
- 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.
- 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.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.