Nonstop flight route between Galveston, Texas, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS), Galveston, Texas, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,678 miles (or 7,528 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS):

• Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) is Ellington Field Joint Reserve BaseEllington Air Force BaseEllington Field (EFD), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) NW of GLS.
• Because of Scholes International Airport at Galveston's relatively low elevation of 6 feet, planes can take off or land at Scholes International Airport at Galveston 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 Scholes International Airport at Galveston (GLS) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,038 miles (17,764 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• Of the 220+ aircraft based at GLS, 50+ are helicopters belonging to Bristow, Era, PHI and other oil industry vendors.
• In addition to being known as "Scholes International Airport at Galveston", another name for GLS is "(former Galveston Army Air Field)".
• Light general aviation aircraft, and the occasional transient business jets can be seen at GLS.
• The most frequent traffic is that of the helicopters that support the offshore oil and gas industry operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
• During World War II, it was redesignated a U.S.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.