Nonstop flight route between Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Isle of Man Airport (IOM), Ronaldsway, Isle of Man, United Kingdom and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,058 miles (or 8,139 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 Isle of Man 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 Isle of Man 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 Isle of Man Airport (IOM):

• An expansion of the airport during the War led to the discovery of the archaeological remains of a Neolithic settlement belonging to what is now called the Ronaldsway culture, in honour of this site.
• The Manx Military and Aviation Museum is situated next to the airport and has exhibits and information about the history of aviation on the island.
• Isle of Man Airport handled 739,683 passengers last year.
• Isle of Man Airport (IOM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Barrow/Walney Island Airport (BWF), which is located 55 miles (89 kilometers) E of IOM.
• The Isle of Man Railway also stops at the nearby Ronaldsway request stop, making possible a unique opportunity in the British Isles to travel to an airport behind a steam locomotive.
• In addition to being known as "Isle of Man Airport", another name for IOM is "Purt Aer Vannin".
• The furthest airport from Isle of Man Airport (IOM) is Ryan's Creek Aerodrome (SZS), which is located 11,847 miles (19,066 kilometers) away in Stewart Island, New Zealand.
• Because of Isle of Man Airport's relatively low elevation of 52 feet, planes can take off or land at Isle of Man 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.
• Now a naval air station, RNAS Ronaldsway, the airport was taken out of commission in 1943 for almost twelve months of extensive development.

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 "  ".
• 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 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• 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.