Nonstop flight route between Baracoa, Cuba and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gustavo Rizo Airport (BCA), Baracoa, Cuba and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,942 miles (or 9,562 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 Gustavo Rizo 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 Gustavo Rizo 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 Gustavo Rizo Airport (BCA):

• Gustavo Rizo Airport (BCA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gustavo Rizo Airport (BCA) is Orestes Acosta Airport (MOA), which is located 34 miles (54 kilometers) NW of BCA.
• The furthest airport from Gustavo Rizo Airport (BCA) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,869 miles (19,101 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
• Because of Gustavo Rizo Airport's relatively low elevation of 26 feet, planes can take off or land at Gustavo Rizo 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.