Nonstop flight route between Yélimané, Mali and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yélimané Airport (EYL), Yélimané, Mali and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,741 miles (or 12,458 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 Yélimané 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 Yélimané 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 Yélimané Airport (EYL):

• The closest airport to Yélimané Airport (EYL) is Nioro Airport (NIX), which is located 67 miles (107 kilometers) E of EYL.
• The furthest airport from Yélimané Airport (EYL) is Sara Airport (SSR), which is nearly antipodal to Yélimané Airport (meaning Yélimané Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Sara Airport), and is located 12,348 miles (19,873 kilometers) away in Sara, Vanuatu.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.