Nonstop flight route between Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL), Erenhot, Inner Mongolia, China and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,841 miles (or 4,572 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International 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 Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL):

• In addition to being known as "Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport", other names for ERL include "二连浩特赛乌苏国际机场" and "Èrliánhàotè Sàiwūsū Guójì Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport (REL), which is nearly antipodal to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (meaning Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport), and is located 12,304 miles (19,802 kilometers) away in Trelew, Chubut, Argentina.
• The closest airport to Erenhot Saiwusu International Airport (ERL) is Hohhot Baita International Airport (HET), which is located 178 miles (287 kilometers) S of ERL.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.