Nonstop flight route between Westerland, Germany and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
![Get maps and more information about Sylt Airport Get airport maps and more information about Sylt Airport](images/takeoff-icon.gif)
Arrival Airport:
![Get maps and more information about Eareckson Air Station Get airport maps and more information about Eareckson Air Station](images/landing-icon.gif)
Distance from GWT to SYA:
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- About this route
- GWT Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about GWT
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWT
- List of Nearest Airports to GWT
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWT
- List of Furthest Airports from GWT
- 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 Sylt Airport (GWT), Westerland, Germany and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,956 miles (or 7,976 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 Sylt 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 Sylt 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: | GWT / EDXW |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Westerland, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 54°54'47"N by 8°20'26"E |
Area Served: | Sylt, Germany |
Operator/Owner: | Flughafen Sylt GmbH |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 51 feet (16 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWT |
More Information: | GWT 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 Sylt Airport (GWT):
- The closest airport to Sylt Airport (GWT) is Vojens Airport (SKS), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) ENE of GWT.
- In addition to being known as "Sylt Airport", another name for GWT is "Flughafen Sylt".
- Sylt Airport handled 21,000 passengers last year.
- The furthest airport from Sylt Airport (GWT) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,640 miles (18,733 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- Sylt Airport is the airport on the German island of Sylt located in the municipality of Sylt.
- Sylt Airport (GWT) has 2 runways.
- Because of Sylt Airport's relatively low elevation of 51 feet, planes can take off or land at Sylt 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.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- 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.
- By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
- The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
- 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.
- 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.
- With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
- 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.
- Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.