Nonstop flight route between Dijon, France and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Dijon Air Base (DIJ), Dijon, France and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,498 miles (or 8,848 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 Dijon Air Base 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 Dijon Air Base 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 Dijon Air Base (DIJ):

• In 1984, the Dassault Mirage 2000C arrived, upgraded in 1999 by the 2000-5F., contributing to a modern, front-line NATO facility.
• Dijon Air Base (DIJ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Dijon Air Base (meaning Dijon Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,186 miles (19,612 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On 12 September the first American units arrived at the base.
• The closest airport to Dijon Air Base (DIJ) is Dole - Jura Airport (DLE), which is located 23 miles (37 kilometers) SE of DIJ.
• During World War II the airport was attacked by the Luftwaffe on several occasions during the Battle of France.
• Because of Dijon Air Base's relatively low elevation of 726 feet, planes can take off or land at Dijon Air Base 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.
• However after much reconstruction, Dijon was returned to operational service for the French Air Force.
• In addition to being known as "Dijon Air Base", another name for DIJ is "(Advanced Landing Ground Y-9)".

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on 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 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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.