Nonstop flight route between Basel, Switzerland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL), Basel, Switzerland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,462 miles (or 8,790 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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 EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL):

• In addition to being known as "EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg", other names for BSL include "Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse", "Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen" and "BSL, MLH".
• The closest airport to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) is EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (MLH), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) N of BSL.
• The airport is connected to motorway A3 which leads from Basel to the southeast of Switzerland passing Zürich.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg handled 5,880,771 passengers last year.
• The first enlargement project was approved by referendum in Basel in 1960 and, over the following decades, the terminals and runways were continually extended.
• The furthest airport from EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (meaning EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,113 miles (19,493 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport building is split into two separate sections – Swiss and French.
• EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL) has 2 runways.
• Because of EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg's relatively low elevation of 885 feet, planes can take off or land at EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.