Nonstop flight route between Bardufoss, Norway and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bardufoss Airport (BDU), Bardufoss, Norway and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,933 miles (or 6,329 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 Bardufoss 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 Bardufoss 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 Bardufoss Airport (BDU):

• In addition to being known as "Bardufoss Airport", another name for BDU is "Bardufoss lufthavn".
• Norwegian won the tender for military air transport services from 2008, resulting in the airline commencing flights from Bardufoss to Oslo, with SAS terminating the service.
• Bardufoss was selected an emergency landing airfield by the Norwegian Army Air Service in 1934, with construction starting in early 1935.
• Because of Bardufoss Airport's relatively low elevation of 252 feet, planes can take off or land at Bardufoss 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.
• Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 347, SAS-operated McDonnell Douglas MD-82 en route to Bodø Airport and Oslo Airport, Fornebu, was hijacking by Haris Keč on 3 November 1994.
• The Norwegian Aviation College college was established at Bardufoss Airport in 1992 as the world's northern-most flight school.
• The closest airport to Bardufoss Airport (BDU) is Tromsø Airport, Langnes (TOS), which is located 44 miles (71 kilometers) NNE of BDU.
• The furthest airport from Bardufoss Airport (BDU) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,613 miles (17,079 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Three times a week SAS operated a night flight from Bardufoss and Bodø to Oslo, with Andøya Airport, Andenes added in 1964, using a Convair Metropolitan.
• Bardufoss Airport handled 207,650 passengers last year.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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 addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• 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.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.