Nonstop flight route between Arusha, Tanzania and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Arusha Airport (ARK), Arusha, Tanzania and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,257 miles (or 13,289 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 Arusha 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 Arusha 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 Arusha Airport (ARK):

• Arusha Airport (ARK) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Arusha Airport's high elevation of 4,550 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ARK. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ARK a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The furthest airport from Arusha Airport (ARK) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,481 miles (18,477 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• The airport is currently undergoing an expansion which includes an extension of the current runway and new terminal buildings.
• The closest airport to Arusha Airport (ARK) is Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which is located 32 miles (51 kilometers) E of ARK.
• A few days later it was flown empty to Kilimanjaro International Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Arusha Airport", another name for ARK is "Uwanja wa Ndege wa Arusha  (Swahili)".
• Arusha Airport handled 122,621 passengers last year.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.