Nonstop flight route between Sørvágur, Faroe Islands and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Vágar Airport (FAE), Sørvágur, Faroe Islands and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,506 miles (or 7,252 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 Vágar 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 Vágar 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 Vágar Airport (FAE):

• The runway was extended from 1,250 metres to 1,799 metres in 2011, allowing more plane types to be used.
• Because of Vágar Airport's relatively low elevation of 280 feet, planes can take off or land at Vágar Airport 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.
• A Boeing 737 aircraft lands
• The furthest airport from Vágar Airport (FAE) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,373 miles (18,304 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Vágar Airport (FAE) is Scatsta Airport (SCS), which is located 228 miles (368 kilometers) ESE of FAE.
• In addition to being known as "Vágar Airport", another name for FAE is "Vága FloghavnVágar Lufthavn".
• An arrival from Billund
• Vágar Airport handled 23,618 passengers last year.
• Vágar Airport (FAE) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in the Kuriles.
• 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.
• 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.
• The station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 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 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.