Nonstop flight route between Bureta, Ovalau Island, Fiji and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Levuka Airfield (LEV), Bureta, Ovalau Island, Fiji and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,874 miles (or 7,844 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 Levuka Airfield 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 Levuka Airfield 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 Levuka Airfield (LEV):

• The furthest airport from Levuka Airfield (LEV) is Gao International Airport (GAQ), which is nearly antipodal to Levuka Airfield (meaning Levuka Airfield is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Gao International Airport), and is located 12,306 miles (19,805 kilometers) away in Gao, Mali.
• Because of Levuka Airfield's relatively low elevation of 11 feet, planes can take off or land at Levuka Airfield 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 Levuka Airfield (LEV) is Suva International Airport (SUV), which is located 26 miles (43 kilometers) SSW of LEV.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• 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.
• 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.
• Shemya has been the scene of two major earthquakes.
• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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.
• 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.
• The base host squadron was re-designated the 5073rd Air Base Squadron on October 1962, and upgraded to a group on 15 October 1974 in recognition of the number and complexities of the tenant units it supported.
• 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.
• With the exception of a small station housekeeping unit, Shemya was abandoned after the war.