Nonstop flight route between Baku, Azerbaijan and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD), Baku, Azerbaijan and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,185 miles (or 8,344 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 Heydar Aliyev 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 Heydar Aliyev 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 Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD):

• Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) is Lankaran International Airport (LLK), which is located 135 miles (218 kilometers) SSW of GYD.
• The furthest airport from Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is located 11,202 miles (18,028 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• The design and project management work was carried out by British company APM Ltd and the building and civil works for the project by the Turkish consortium, Burc/Enka.
• In addition to being known as "Heydar Aliyev International Airport", another name for GYD is "Heydər Əliyev adına beynəlxalq hava limanı".
• There is a direct express minibus route number 116 operating from the airport to Baku city centre.
• The project to renovate the airport started at the beginning of 1998 and was completed in June 1999.
• The cargo terminal at Heydar Aliyev International Airport has been officially inaugurated and started its operation on 23 March 2005.
• Because of Heydar Aliyev International Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Heydar Aliyev International 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):

• On 6 April 1993, Shemya Air Force Base was renamed Eareckson Air Station.
• 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.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• The mission of Eleventh Air Force was to take advantage of the new airfields on Shemya and Attu, and carry out offensive operations against the enemy forces in 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.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.