Nonstop flight route between Golfito, Costa Rica and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Golfito Airport (GLF), Golfito, Costa Rica and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,266 miles (or 10,084 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 Golfito 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 Golfito 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 Golfito Airport (GLF):

• Because of Golfito Airport's relatively low elevation of 49 feet, planes can take off or land at Golfito 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 closest airport to Golfito Airport (GLF) is Puerto Jiménez Airport (PJM), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of GLF.
• Golfito Airport (GLF) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Golfito Airport (GLF) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is nearly antipodal to Golfito Airport (meaning Golfito Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,622 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.