Nonstop flight route between Guatemala City, Guatemala and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between La Aurora International Airport (GUA), Guatemala City, Guatemala and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,640 miles (or 9,077 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 La Aurora International 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 La Aurora International 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 La Aurora International Airport (GUA):

• La Aurora International Airport (GUA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of La Aurora International Airport's high elevation of 4,951 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GUA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GUA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport's runway currently measures 2,987 m × 60 m.
• In addition to being known as "La Aurora International Airport", another name for GUA is "Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora".
• The closest airport to La Aurora International Airport (GUA) is Quiché Airport (AQB), which is located 51 miles (82 kilometers) NW of GUA.
• La Aurora International Airport serves Guatemala City, Guatemala.
• Detachments from the airfield operated intermittently from San Jose Airport, San José, Costa Rica, and Puerto San José, Guatemala from 1942 though 1944.
• The furthest airport from La Aurora International Airport (GUA) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,915 miles (19,176 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• La Aurora International Airport handled 1,970,618 passengers last year.
• On 6 April 1993, TACA Airlines Boeing 767 ran off the end of runway 19 after landing.
• Boarding Bridges of the North Concourse

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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 station was also used by SAC Cobra Ball and other related projects which monitored missile-associated signals and tracks missiles during boost and re-entry phases to provide reconnaissance for treaty verification and theater ballistic missile proliferation.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.