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 was ranked 48th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2009-2010.
• Griffith Airport is an airport serving Griffith, New South Wales, Australia.
• Griffith Airport (GFF) has 2 runways.
• The airport resides at an elevation of 439 ft above sea level.
• 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.
• 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity 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.
• There is also an NDB, TACAN and a VOR on the island.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.