Nonstop flight route between Kiruna, Sweden and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kiruna Airport (KRN), Kiruna, Sweden and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,000 miles (or 6,437 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 Kiruna 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 Kiruna 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 Kiruna Airport (KRN):

• The closest airport to Kiruna Airport (KRN) is Gällivare Airport (GEV), which is located 49 miles (79 kilometers) SSE of KRN.
• The furthest airport from Kiruna Airport (KRN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,169 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• On March 15, 2012, a Norwegian military transport plane, type Lockheed Hercules, crashed into the Kebnekaise mountain when approaching Kiruna Airport, the Norwegian C-130 Hercules accident.
• Kiruna Airport (KRN) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• After the disastrous attack, the focus of Eleventh Air Force was shifted to a defensive posture in the event of retaliatory attacks from the Japanese.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.
• 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.