Nonstop flight route between Akrotiri, Cyprus and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Akrotiri (AKT), Akrotiri, Cyprus and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,967 miles (or 9,603 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 RAF Akrotiri 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 RAF Akrotiri 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 RAF Akrotiri (AKT):

• In addition to being known as "RAF Akrotiri", another name for AKT is ""Aki"".
• Akrotiri, along with Nicosia, assumed a very important status, as virtually the sole means for projecting British airpower into the eastern Mediterranean, outside of aircraft carriers.
• The closest airport to RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Paphos International Airport (PFO), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) WNW of AKT.
• The furthest airport from RAF Akrotiri (AKT) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,556 miles (18,598 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Up until 1974 RAF Akrotiri had a balanced force of aircraft assigned to it, even including No.
• Akrotiri was also the location of the main transmitter of the well known numbers station, the Lincolnshire Poacher, although transmissions ceased in 2008.
• Akrotiri is also the winter training grounds of the RAF display team, the Red Arrows.
• Even this massive influx from Egypt was not the end.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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.
• 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.