Nonstop flight route between Güttin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield (GTI), Güttin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,955 miles (or 7,975 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 Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield 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 Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield 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 Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield (GTI):

• The airfield started life as an agricultural airstrip in Güttin with a grass runway.
• The closest airport to Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield (GTI) is Stralsund Barth Airport (BBH), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) W of GTI.
• In addition to being known as "Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield", another name for GTI is "Flugplatz Rügen/ Regionalflugplatz Güttin".
• Because of Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield's relatively low elevation of 69 feet, planes can take off or land at Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield 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 Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield (GTI) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,584 miles (18,643 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Rügen Airport/ Güttin Airfield (GTI) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Eareckson Air Station is a United States Air Force military airport located on the island of Shemya, in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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 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 (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Additional aircraft and personnel reductions occurred in 1945 and almost all air bases other than Alexi Point, Shemya and Davis in the Aleutians were reduced to caretaker status.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.