Nonstop flight route between Altenrhein, Switzerland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH), Altenrhein, Switzerland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,454 miles (or 8,778 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein 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 St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH):

• The closest airport to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Hohenems-Dornbirn Airport (HOH), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SE of ACH.
• The paved, eastbound runway 10 is equipped with an Instrument landing system.
• In addition to being known as "St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport", another name for ACH is "People's Business Airport".
• The furthest airport from St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (meaning St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,051 miles (19,394 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport (ACH) has 2 runways.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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 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 has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.