Nonstop flight route between Grímsey, Iceland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grímsey Airport (GRY), Grímsey, Iceland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,172 miles (or 6,715 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 Grímsey 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 Grímsey 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 Grímsey Airport (GRY):

• The furthest airport from Grímsey Airport (GRY) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,061 miles (17,801 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Grímsey Airport (GRY) is Siglufjörður Airport (SIJ), which is located 38 miles (61 kilometers) SW of GRY.
• In addition to being known as "Grímsey Airport", another name for GRY is "Grímseyjarflugvöllur".
• Because of Grímsey Airport's relatively low elevation of 81 feet, planes can take off or land at Grímsey 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.
• Grímsey Airport (GRY) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• 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 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.