Nonstop flight route between Griffith, New South Wales, Australia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Griffith Airport (GFF), Griffith, New South Wales, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,242 miles (or 10,045 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 Griffith 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 Griffith 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 Griffith Airport (GFF):

• Griffith Airport (GFF) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Griffith Airport (GFF) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Griffith Airport (meaning Griffith Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,045 miles (19,385 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• The closest airport to Griffith Airport (GFF) is West Wyalong Airport (WWY), which is located 68 miles (109 kilometers) ENE of GFF.
• Because of Griffith Airport's relatively low elevation of 439 feet, planes can take off or land at Griffith 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.
• Griffith Airport was ranked 48th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2009-2010.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 439 ft above sea level.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.