Nonstop flight route between Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ikela Airport (IKL), Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,503 miles (or 13,684 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 Ikela 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 Ikela 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 Ikela Airport (IKL):

• The furthest airport from Ikela Airport (IKL) is Cassidy International Airport (CXI), which is nearly antipodal to Ikela Airport (meaning Ikela Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Cassidy International Airport), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Christmas Island, Kiribati.
• The closest airport to Ikela Airport (IKL) is Lodja Airport (LJA), which is located 152 miles (245 kilometers) S of IKL.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• The spring of 1944 brought improving weather and the B-24s and PV-1s to fly more missions over the Kuriles.
• 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 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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.
• 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.