Nonstop flight route between Aspen, Colorado, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE), Aspen, Colorado, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,708 miles (or 5,967 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 Aspen–Pitkin County 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 Aspen–Pitkin County 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 Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE):

• In addition to being known as "Aspen–Pitkin County Airport", another name for ASE is "Sardy Field".
• Because of Aspen–Pitkin County Airport's high elevation of 7,820 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at ASE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make ASE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The airport is also conducting an update of its 2004 Airport Master Plan.
• The Aspen–Pitkin County Airport is certificated as a Class I, ARFF Index B commercial service airport under FAR Part 139.
• Historically, the airport was served by a number of airlines over the years including Aspen Airways which introduced the first scheduled passenger jet service into Aspen.
• The closest airport to Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), which is located 29 miles (47 kilometers) N of ASE.
• The furthest airport from Aspen–Pitkin County Airport (ASE) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,971 miles (17,657 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Mesaba Airlines operating as Northwest Airlink flew the Avro RJ85, a later version of the BAe 146 jet, on seasonal nonstop flights to Minneapolis/St.
• On April 4, 2011, the airport began a $15.5 million runway extension project which added 1,000 feet of runway length to the existing 7,006' long runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.