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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Båtsfjord Airport (BJF), Båtsfjord, Finnmark, Norway and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,736 miles (or 6,012 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 Båtsfjord 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 Båtsfjord 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 Båtsfjord Airport (BJF):

• All services from the airport are operated by Widerøe with 39-seat Dash-8-100 aircraft.
• Båtsfjord Airport handled 16,842 passengers last year.
• The closest airport to Båtsfjord Airport (BJF) is Berlevåg Airport (BVG), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) NW of BJF.
• Because of Båtsfjord Airport's relatively low elevation of 490 feet, planes can take off or land at Båtsfjord 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.
• In addition to being known as "Båtsfjord Airport", another name for BJF is "Båtsfjord lufthavn".
• The terminal consists of a single building, with an integrated control tower, capable of handling 120 passengers per hour.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 149 meters  above mean sea level.
• The furthest airport from Båtsfjord Airport (BJF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,381 miles (16,706 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The first airline to operate to Båtsfjord was Varangfly, later renamed Norving, who flew seaplane taxi and ambulance flights in the early 1960s.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.