Nonstop flight route between Aniwa Island, Taféa, Vanuatu and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from AWD to SYA:
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- About this route
- AWD Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about AWD
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to AWD
- List of Nearest Airports to AWD
- Map of Furthest Airports from AWD
- List of Furthest Airports from AWD
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Aniwa Airport (AWD), Aniwa Island, Taféa, Vanuatu and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,978 miles (or 8,012 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 Aniwa 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 Aniwa 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | AWD / NVVB |
Airport Name: | Aniwa Airport |
Location: | Aniwa Island, Taféa, Vanuatu |
GPS Coordinates: | 19°14'3"S by 169°36'2"E |
Area Served: | Aniwa, Taféa, Vanuatu |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 69 feet (21 meters) |
View all routes: | Routes from AWD |
More Information: | AWD Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
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Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Aniwa Airport (AWD):
- Because of Aniwa Airport's relatively low elevation of 69 feet, planes can take off or land at Aniwa 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.
- The closest airport to Aniwa Airport (AWD) is Ipota Airport (IPA), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) NW of AWD.
- The furthest airport from Aniwa Airport (AWD) is Tichitt Airport (THI), which is nearly antipodal to Aniwa Airport (meaning Aniwa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tichitt Airport), and is located 12,358 miles (19,888 kilometers) away in Tichitt, Mauritania.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- In August 1988, at least one Aries rocket was launched, relating to the Queen Match program, for anti-ballistic missile testing.
- The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
- 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.
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.