Nonstop flight route between Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Brisbane Airport (BNE), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,677 miles (or 9,136 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 Brisbane 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 Brisbane 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 Brisbane Airport (BNE):

• The furthest airport from Brisbane Airport (BNE) is La Palma Airport (SPC), which is located 11,874 miles (19,109 kilometers) away in La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.
• On 27 February 2014, Qantas announced it had disposed of its long-term lease at the domestic terminal which was due to expire on 30 December 2018.
• The domestic terminals for TAA and Ansett were reached from Lamington Avenue, near the Doomben Racecourse.
• Brisbane Airport handled 2,139,106 passengers last year.
• Brisbane Airport (BNE) has 2 runways.
• Brisbane Airport is the main airport in Brisbane.
• By the 1970s it was clear that the facilities at Eagle Farm were inadequate for a city of Brisbane's size and anticipated growth.
• Because of Brisbane Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Brisbane 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.
• Brisbane Airport has 4 car-parks, all operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• The international terminal was built in 1995 and has 12 bays with aerobridges, two of these a capable of handling A380s.
• The closest airport to Brisbane Airport (BNE) is Caloundra Airport (CUD), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) N of BNE.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• 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 "  ".
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.