Nonstop flight route between Hargeisa, Somalia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA), Hargeisa, Somalia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,230 miles (or 11,635 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 Hargeisa Egal 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 Hargeisa Egal 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 Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA):

• The airport was later renamed to Egal International Airport after the veteran politician Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal.
• The furthest airport from Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hargeisa Egal International Airport (meaning Hargeisa Egal International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,225 miles (19,674 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Originally a small facility built during the colonial period, the former Hargeisa International Airport was expanded and modernized in the 1980s by the Siad Barre administration so as to accommodate larger aircraft and offer more flight destinations.
• Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Hargeisa Egal International Airport's high elevation of 4,423 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HGA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HGA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) is Borama Airport (BXX), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of HGA.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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 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 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 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.
• 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 base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".