Nonstop flight route between Gainesville, Georgia, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from GVL to SYA:
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- About this route
- GVL Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about GVL
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GVL
- List of Nearest Airports to GVL
- Map of Furthest Airports from GVL
- List of Furthest Airports from GVL
- Map of Nearest Airports to SYA
- List of Nearest Airports to SYA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SYA
- List of Furthest Airports from SYA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL), Gainesville, Georgia, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,830 miles (or 7,774 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 Lee Gilmer Memorial 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 Lee Gilmer Memorial 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:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GVL / KGVL |
Airport Name: | Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport |
Location: | Gainesville, Georgia, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°16'21"N by 83°49'49"W |
Area Served: | Gainesville, Georgia |
Operator/Owner: | City of Gainesville |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 1276 feet (389 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GVL |
More Information: | GVL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SYA / PASY |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Shemya, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°42'43"N by 174°6'48"E |
Operator/Owner: | U.S. Air Force |
Airport Type: | Military |
Elevation: | 97 feet (30 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SYA |
More Information: | SYA Maps & Info |
Facts about Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL):
- Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) is Barrow County Airport (WDR), which is located 22 miles (36 kilometers) SSE of GVL.
- The furthest airport from Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,355 miles (18,274 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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 August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
- 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.
- It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
- 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.
- 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.