Nonstop flight route between Karpathos, Greece and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK), Karpathos, Greece and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,031 miles (or 9,707 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 Karpathos Island National 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 Karpathos Island National 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 Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK):

• The furthest airport from Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK) is Rurutu Airport (RUR), which is located 11,535 miles (18,564 kilometers) away in Rurutu, French Polynesia.
• Because of Karpathos Island National Airport's relatively low elevation of 66 feet, planes can take off or land at Karpathos Island National 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.
• Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Karpathos Island National Airport (AOK) is Kasos Island Public Airport (KSJ), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) W of AOK.
• In addition to being known as "Karpathos Island National Airport", another name for AOK is "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Καρπάθου".

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• 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 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• 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 station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.