Nonstop flight route between Matthew Town, Great Inagua Island, Bahamas and Shemya, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from IGA to SYA:
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- About this route
- IGA Airport Information
- SYA Airport Information
- Facts about IGA
- Facts about SYA
- Map of Nearest Airports to IGA
- List of Nearest Airports to IGA
- Map of Furthest Airports from IGA
- List of Furthest Airports from IGA
- 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 Inagua Airport (IGA), Matthew Town, Great Inagua Island, Bahamas and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,938 miles (or 9,556 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 Inagua 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 Inagua 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: | IGA / MYIG |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Matthew Town, Great Inagua Island, Bahamas |
GPS Coordinates: | 20°58'30"N by 73°40'0"W |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 8 feet (2 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from IGA |
More Information: | IGA 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 Inagua Airport (IGA):
- The closest airport to Inagua Airport (IGA) is Gustavo Rizo Airport (BCA), which is located 69 miles (111 kilometers) SW of IGA.
- In addition to being known as "Inagua Airport", another name for IGA is "Matthew Town Airport".
- Because of Inagua Airport's relatively low elevation of 8 feet, planes can take off or land at Inagua 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.
- The furthest airport from Inagua Airport (IGA) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,931 miles (19,201 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
- Inagua Airport (IGA) currently has only 1 runway.
Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):
- The limited resources assigned to the Eleventh Air Force meant only a limited number of missions could be carried out over the Kuriles.
- In July 1973, Raytheon won a contract to build a system called COBRA DANE on Shemya.
- 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.
- 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.
- In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and " ".
- 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 spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.