Nonstop flight route between Ghanzi, Botswana and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ghanzi Airport (GNZ), Ghanzi, Botswana and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,845 miles (or 15,844 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 Ghanzi 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 Ghanzi 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 Ghanzi Airport (GNZ):

• Because of Ghanzi Airport's relatively low elevation of 0 feet, planes can take off or land at Ghanzi 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 airport has a bitumen sealed 1500 metres long and 18 metres wide runway and is designed to handle light aircraft with Maximum All Up Weight of 5700 kg.
• The closest airport to Ghanzi Airport (GNZ) is Hukuntsi Airport (HUK), which is located 159 miles (256 kilometers) S of GNZ.
• The furthest airport from Ghanzi Airport (GNZ) is Dillingham Airfield (HDH), which is nearly antipodal to Ghanzi Airport (meaning Ghanzi Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Dillingham Airfield), and is located 12,425 miles (19,995 kilometers) away in Mokuleia, Hawaii, United States.
• · Latitude 21° 42’ 00” South · Longitude 021° 40’ 00” East · Elevation 1137 m above sea-level · Reference temperature 340 C
• In terms of passenger and aircraft movements, the current Ghanzi Airport can be classified as a marginal airport.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• By the end of 1944, several hundred American airmen had been interned by the Russians after their crippled aircraft landed on Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
• 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.
• 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.