Nonstop flight route between Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,083 miles (or 6,572 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 Biggs Army Airfield 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 Biggs Army Airfield 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 Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):

• By 1966, the introduction of the Titan and Atlas Intercontinental Strategic Ballistic Missiles into the US Strategic Inventory lessened the need for intercontinental strategic bombers.
• Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
• Beginning in 1950, the 97th Bomb Wing received its first B-50 Superfortress, an improved version of the B-29 capable of delivering atomic weapons.
• With the activation of TAC, the new command assigned Headquarters, Ninth Air Force to Biggs on 28 March upon its return from Germany.
• In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
• Enough construction was completed by the late summer of 1942, to allow the 303d Bombardment Group to began training with B-17Fs under Second Air Force on 7 August.
• The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• 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.
• 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 is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.