Nonstop flight route between Anaa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Anaa Airport (AAA), Anaa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,408 miles (or 8,703 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 Anaa 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 Anaa 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 Anaa Airport (AAA):

• The furthest airport from Anaa Airport (AAA) is Atbara Airport (ATB), which is nearly antipodal to Anaa Airport (meaning Anaa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atbara Airport), and is located 12,399 miles (19,954 kilometers) away in Atbara, Sudan.
• The closest airport to Anaa Airport (AAA) is Fakarava Airport (FAV), which is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) N of AAA.
• Because of Anaa Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Anaa 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.
• Anaa Airport (AAA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Anaa Airport", another name for AAA is "Aérodrome de Anna".

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.