Nonstop flight route between Lewiston, Idaho, United States and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS), Lewiston, Idaho, United States and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,999 miles (or 4,826 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 Lewiston-Nez Perce County 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 Lewiston-Nez Perce County 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 Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS):

• The furthest airport from Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,717 miles (17,248 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• The closest airport to Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) is Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport (PUW), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) N of LWS.
• The short-lived Gem State Airlines of Coeur d'Alene served Lewiston for 11 months, until November 1979.Mountain West Airlines of Boise served Lewiston for less than three months before folding in early March 1981.Big Sky Airlines of Billings briefly served Lewiston in 1979.
• The 2013 Federal sequester will result in the closure of the airport's contract control tower and will require pilots to rely on air traffic controllers from other area airports.
• Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport (LWS) has 2 runways.
• The early jet service was by Air West Douglas DC-9s and BAC One-Elevens of Cascade Airways, supplemented with turboprops of both airlines.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (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.
• 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.
• 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.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• By August, Eleventh Air Force B-24s were carrying out successful and accurate attacks on the Japanese military installations and the B-25s were successful in driving the Japanese fishing and much of the shipping out of the North Pacific.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.