Nonstop flight route between Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Lawas Airport (LWY), Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,672 miles (or 7,519 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 Lawas 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 Lawas 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 Lawas Airport (LWY):

• Because of Lawas Airport's relatively low elevation of 5 feet, planes can take off or land at Lawas 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.
• In addition to being known as "Lawas Airport", other names for LWY include "Lapangan Terbang Lawas" and "老越机场".
• The closest airport to Lawas Airport (LWY) is Long Sukang Airport (LSU), which is located 21 miles (35 kilometers) SSE of LWY.
• The furthest airport from Lawas Airport (LWY) is Tefé Airport (TFF), which is nearly antipodal to Lawas Airport (meaning Lawas Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tefé Airport), and is located 12,335 miles (19,851 kilometers) away in Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil.
• Lawas Airport (LWY) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• It also became a Strategic Air Command refueling site for B-52 Stratofortress bombers and KC-135 tankers as part of Operation Chrome Dome.
• On 10 July 1943, eight B-25 Mitchells from the 77th Bombardment Squadron left Adak AAF and refueled at Alexai Point AAF on Attu.