Nonstop flight route between Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Yamagata Airport (GAJ), Yamagata, Honshū, Japan and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,883 miles (or 3,030 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 relatively short distance between Yamagata Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Yamagata Airport (GAJ):

• The airport has had no scheduled ground transportation services since April 2009 due to depressed passenger numbers.
• The closest airport to Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Sendai Airport (SDJ), which is located 35 miles (56 kilometers) ESE of GAJ.
• In addition to being known as "Yamagata Airport", another name for GAJ is "山形空港".
• Yamagata Airport (GAJ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Yamagata Airport's relatively low elevation of 345 feet, planes can take off or land at Yamagata 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.
• The furthest airport from Yamagata Airport (GAJ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,606 miles (18,679 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.
• 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 July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".