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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Épinal - Mirecourt Airport (EPL), Juvaincourt, Vosges, France and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,421 miles (or 8,724 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 Épinal - Mirecourt 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 Épinal - Mirecourt 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 Épinal - Mirecourt Airport (EPL):

• In addition to being known as "Épinal - Mirecourt Airport", another name for EPL is "Aéroport d'Épinal - Mirecourt".
• The closest airport to Épinal - Mirecourt Airport (EPL) is Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport (ETZ), which is located 46 miles (74 kilometers) N of EPL.
• Épinal - Mirecourt Airport (EPL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Épinal - Mirecourt Airport (EPL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Épinal - Mirecourt Airport (meaning Épinal - Mirecourt Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,102 miles (19,477 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.