Nonstop flight route between Geneva, Switzerland and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Geneva International Airport (GVA), Geneva, Switzerland and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,563 miles (or 8,953 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 Geneva 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 Geneva 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 Geneva International Airport (GVA):

• In 1968 the construction of a second runway and a mid-field round terminal were proposed, but ultimately the concept was never realised.
• The furthest airport from Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Geneva International Airport (meaning Geneva International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,227 miles (19,678 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A new terminal project named 'Aile Est' starting in 2012, will modernize and extend Pier C following a complete reconstruction.
• In February 2014, the Tribune de Genève reported that delays of up to three years may occur, and that the cost might increase to up to 120 millions Swiss Francs.
• Geneva airport has two passenger terminals, T1 and T2.
• Geneva International Airport handled 14,436,000 passengers last year.
• Winter weekends see dozens of coaches at the nearby Charter terminal meeting charter flights from all over Europe, but primarily the UK.
• Geneva airport was created in 1919 as a simple field in Cointrin, near the city of Geneva.
• The 2007-2015 master plan is coming to an end with the construction of pier C, that will enable seven aircraft such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A330 and A340 to connect to the terminal via jet bridges.
• Geneva International Airport (GVA) has 2 runways.
• In addition to being known as "Geneva International Airport", another name for GVA is "Aéroport international de GenèveGenève aéroport".
• The closest airport to Geneva International Airport (GVA) is Annemasse Aerodrome (QNJ), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) ESE of GVA.

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.
• In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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 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.
• 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 limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out 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.
• 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.