Nonstop flight route between Gdańsk, Poland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN), Gdańsk, Poland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,907 miles (or 7,897 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa 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 Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN):

• Because of Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport's relatively low elevation of 489 feet, planes can take off or land at Gdansk Lech Walesa 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.
• In 2006 it served 1,249,780 passengers.
• The airport is named after Lech Wałęsa, the former Polish president.
• In addition to being known as "Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport", other names for GDN include "Port Lotniczy Gdańsk im. Lecha Wałęsy" and "Gdańsk".
• Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) is Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport (QYD), which is located only 14 miles (23 kilometers) N of GDN.
• The furthest airport from Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

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.
• 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 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 (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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 Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over 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.
• 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 "  ".