Nonstop flight route between Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT), Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,675 miles (or 7,523 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 Jack Brooks Regional 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 Jack Brooks Regional 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 Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT):

• Jack Brooks Regional Airport, formerly Southeast Texas Regional Airport, is a public airport located near Port Arthur, Texas, United States, nine miles southeast of the central business district of Beaumont and northeast of Port Arthur.
• Historically, Beaumont/Port Arthur was served by Eastern Airlines during the 1950s and 1960s with Martin 4-0-4, Convair 340 and Convair 440 twin prop "Silver Falcon" airliners with flights to Houston/Hobby Airport, TX as well as direct service to Baton Rouge, LA and New Orleans, LA via intermediate stops en route in Lake Charles, LA and Lafayette, LA.
• Because of Jack Brooks Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 15 feet, planes can take off or land at Jack Brooks Regional 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.
• The airport also had scheduled passenger jet service provided by no less than six airlines at different times over the years.
• Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT) has 2 runways.
• In addition, a number of independent commuter airlines served Beaumont/Port Arthur at various times over the years including Metro Airlines with de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Short 330 turboprop flights nonstop to Houston, Royale Airlines with Embraer EMB-110 "Bandeirante" turboprop service nonstop to Houston and direct to New Orleans, Air Texana with nonstop Beechcraft prop aircraft service to Houston/Hobby Airport as well as nonstop Douglas DC-3 flights to New Orleans, and Conquest Airlines with Beechcraft 1900C and Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop service nonstop to Austin and Dallas Love Field.
• The furthest airport from Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,026 miles (17,745 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Jack Brooks Regional Airport (BPT) is Beaumont Municipal Airport (BMT), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) NW of BPT.
• Currently, ground transportation is provided by United Express bus service to Houston Intercontinental Airport several times a day.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.