Nonstop flight route between Afton, Wyoming, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Afton Municipal Airport (AFO), Afton, Wyoming, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,390 miles (or 5,455 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 Afton Municipal 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 Afton Municipal 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 Afton Municipal Airport (AFO):

• The closest airport to Afton Municipal Airport (AFO) is Miley Memorial Field (BPI), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of AFO.
• In addition to being known as "Afton Municipal Airport", another name for AFO is "Afton-Lincoln County Airport".
• Afton Municipal Airport (AFO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Afton Municipal Airport (AFO) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,817 miles (17,408 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Because of Afton Municipal Airport's high elevation of 6,221 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at AFO. Combined with a high temperature, this could make AFO a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport covers an area of 282 acres at an elevation of 6,221 feet above mean sea level.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.