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

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Longreach Airport (LRE), Longreach, Queensland, Australia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,559 miles (or 8,946 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 Longreach 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 Longreach 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 Longreach Airport (LRE):

• The furthest airport from Longreach Airport (LRE) is Agostinho Neto Airport (NTO), which is located 11,625 miles (18,709 kilometers) away in Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão, Cape Verde.
• In 2002, Qantas returned to the town, with a Boeing 747-238B aircraft, registered VH-EBQ and named City of Bunbury, flown into the town for static display at the Qantas Founders Outback Museum, which is also sited at the airport.
• The first overland flight across the Australian continent from Melbourne to Darwin passed through the airport in 1919.
• In 1990, the Department of Aviation closed the Longreach Flight Service Unit, the descendant of the Aeradio station opened in 1941.
• In 2012, a new terminal was opened to comply with new security regulations.
• Longreach Airport (LRE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Amy Johnson landed her de Havilland Gipsy Moth, registered G-AAAH, at the airport in 1930.
• The closest airport to Longreach Airport (LRE) is Barcaldine Airport (BCI), which is located 66 miles (106 kilometers) E of LRE.
• Because of Longreach Airport's relatively low elevation of 627 feet, planes can take off or land at Longreach 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.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• 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 Korean War brought extensive use by the Military Air Transport Service for the logistical support of Korea and Japan.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• In 1966 the Air Defense Command 9th Air Division assumed jurisdiction of the base.
• 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 "  ".
• A second attack by B-24 Liberators was launched from Alexai Point and Shemya on 18 July.
• 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.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.
• 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.