Nonstop flight route between Douglas, Arizona, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Douglas Municipal Airport (DGL), Douglas, Arizona, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,980 miles (or 6,406 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 Douglas Municipal 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 Douglas Municipal 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 Douglas Municipal Airport (DGL):

• Because of Douglas Municipal Airport's high elevation of 4,173 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at DGL. Combined with a high temperature, this could make DGL a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• Douglas Municipal Airport (DGL) has 2 runways.
• The Air Training Command maintained the former Douglas Air Field on temporary inactive status starting on October 31, 1945.
• The furthest airport from Douglas Municipal Airport (DGL) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,522 miles (18,542 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The 1943 photo of Douglas Army Airfield looks like Bisbee-Douglas International Airport, not the current Douglas Municipal Airport.
• In addition to being known as "Douglas Municipal Airport", another name for DGL is "Douglas Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Douglas Municipal Airport (DGL) is Bisbee Douglas International Airport (DUG), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) NNW of DGL.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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.