Nonstop flight route between Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Mount Isa Airport (ISA), Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,479 miles (or 8,818 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 Mount Isa 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 Mount Isa 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 Mount Isa Airport (ISA):

• Since 2005 the airport has been owned by Queensland Airports Limited, which also owns Townsville Airport and Gold Coast Airport.
• Mount Isa Airport (ISA) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 22 September 1966 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Mount Isa Airport with twenty passengers for a flight to Brisbane via Longreach.
• In the 2010-2011 financial year, Mount Isa Airport handled 217,525 passengers, a 25.1% increase over the previous year.
• The closest airport to Mount Isa Airport (ISA) is Cloncurry Airport (CNJ), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) E of ISA.
• Mount Isa Airport was ranked 30th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financial year 2010-2011.
• The furthest airport from Mount Isa Airport (ISA) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,402 miles (18,349 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.

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.
• The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training.
• 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.
• The news of the surrender of the Japanese was met with enthusiasm, the biggest topic was "When do we go home?".
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.