Nonstop flight route between between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from BWI to SYA:
Share this route:
Jump to:
- About this route
- BWI Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about BWI
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BWI
- List of Nearest Airports to BWI
- Map of Furthest Airports from BWI
- List of Furthest Airports from BWI
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,811 miles (or 7,743 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 Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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 Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BWI / KBWI |
Airport Name: | Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport |
Location: | between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 39°10'31"N by 76°40'5"W |
Area Served: | Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area |
Operator/Owner: | Maryland Aviation Administration |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 146 feet (45 meters) |
# of Runways: | 4 |
View all routes: | Routes from BWI |
More Information: | BWI Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI):
- Because of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport's relatively low elevation of 146 feet, planes can take off or land at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall 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 BWI Rail Station opened in 1980, providing a rail connection to passengers on the busy Northeast Corridor through Amtrak.
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport handled 22,391,785 passengers last year.
- On July 12, 2013, BWI Airport and the Maryland Aviation Administration launched a 3-year $125 million construction project.
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) has 4 runways.
- Planning for a new airport on 3,200 acres to serve the Baltimore/Washington area began just after the end of World War II.
- The closest airport to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is Tipton Airport (FME), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) SW of BWI.
- The furthest airport from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,691 miles (18,814 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
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 " ".
- With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
- In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
- 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.
- On 1 July 1994, the 11th Air Control Wing was inactivated and the 673d ABG was reassigned to Eleventh Air Force.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
- 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.